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Dman

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Everything posted by Dman

  1. Dman
    With this team I wouldn't think that even an easier schedule is an advantage as they have been horrid against bad teams at times. Got swept in KC can't seem to win a series against the Tigers. They barely snuck by the A's with two one run games and the A's are the worst team in baseball right now. With tired arms and a lineup that runs hot and cold on any given night and a pen full of question marks I just don't see this as an easy road unless things change for the better consistency wise for this team. Also the Guardians young arms have been keeping them in games, Their team ERA is slightly better than the Twins and their bullpen is better than Minnesota's. The only thing holding the Guardians back is their offense has once again gone missing. If they find any kind of resurgence in that area then they could pass the Twins for the division title despite the tougher schedule. Sure if the Twins do what they should they have the division locked up. I just don't trust them at all given how the season has played out so far.
  2. Dman
    And of coarse just to make me look an idiot he homered in his first at bat today. Maybe Wade will be a good comparison. I hope so.
  3. Dman
    He likes to crowd the plate which is why he gets so many hit by pitch at bats. With little power I am not sure those walks will translate well. Just pitch to the guy and the worst he can do is get a single which is essentially the same as a walk. I would just attack him with breaking stuff and make him work his way on instead of giving him a free pass. He hasn't even hit .300 in any minor league season so it isn't like he is great with the bat anyway. Best way to beat him is to attack him. He keeps his K rate down so he can hit almost anything but he doesn't get solid contact so his slugging is low and with .260 -.270 Average in AAA I don't see how that approach is gonna translate well to MLB. His one strength is his balanced K rate and walk rate so he has always had a really good OBP throughout his career. Gonna have to wait and see but given how many outs he makes I am surprised teams even at AAA want to walk him at all.
  4. Dman
    I really like Prato's line and as others have said his K rate of 20% has remained steady throughout the minors. He has never had a 20% walk rate before but his walk rates have always been good just not this good. His OBP month to month has been in the .400 to nearly .500 range in every month except April so his control of the zone does looks elite. That is a skill that would give him a leg up at the MLB level. Still looking at August and the SSS there his batting average is only .250 although he still has a .462 OBP so the average is fine as he is getting on base a ton. However, his slugging is dropping and has been for a while now. In August it is at .393 his lowest since the month of April. There is a lot of time left in the month but the super hot streak may be starting to cool off. Will have to wait and see but he still has a nice plate approach that looks MLB worthy but without the slugging to go with it he would be a utility bat at best.
  5. Dman
    Hey I want to be a believer but he needs an out pitch. Batter's can seem to run up his pitch count at will because he doesn't seem to have a pitch to put guys away with. If he ever solves that I do think he is a major league pitcher and possibly a mid rotation one. If he stays as is I just don't see him making it except in maybe a depth emergency. The WHIP has to come down before I have any confidence what so ever. He is a good pitcher right now but he needs to be better if he wants to pitch in the majors.
  6. Dman
    Was starting to get worried about Cedar Rapids bats but it looks like they are back. Nice to see Ross with a big night was starting to wonder what happened to his contact skills. McCusker went 4 for 5 so he seems to be handling High A as well as A ball. Also good to see Rodriguez with no K's and two walks. I swear he is a different player every night. Cruz finally hit the 700 OPS mark on the season but it has taken a 1.277 OPS in August to get there. He is hot at the plate right now and I hope he has figured some things out as he is young for the level and could be a good bat in the future. If you would have asked me who would transition better to AA Tanner Schobel or Willie Joe Gary I would have hands down said Schobel as Gary hasn't had an OPS over .700 in his minor league career. It is a super small sample size but right now Willie Joe has a 1.041 OPS at AA and Schobel .554. Sometime things click and sometimes they don't I guess. Larnach continues to hit the ball well. Not sure if those hits are coming off breaking stuff or still just fastballs but he looks ready for another chance when and or if it comes. Nice to see the hitters getting back in a groove again now if the pitching could be better there would be more wins.
  7. Dman
    I will echo comments of too small of a sample size for Wallner. Larnach had his moments of being the best hitter on the team for about a month or so and then slowly tanked. Same with Miranda so not sold that this is who Wallner is just yet. I still believe in Larnach and his hitting is improving at AAA. The lack of power at the MLB level is concerning but it is harder to square up breaking balls so I can see that sapping some of his slugging. I think his approach of just trying to get contact and gain confidence in his hitting is the place to start and he has more than enough ability to swing for the fences when in good counts. I don't think he is a liability in left field but he doesn't have great speed so he needs to slug or he isn't a major league player. Of the two right now I like Wallner better. He has taken good at bats. he is getting to his power and has kept his K rate in an OK spot for right now. He is going to see fewer fastballs so hopefully he can adjust to that. This seems to be the point where players with generally high K rate have issues but we will see. Personally I still hope both players work out but we will have to wait and see.
  8. Dman
    What a start from Ohl. Pure Domination and he was so aggressive throwing strikes he didn't give up a walk. He did give up plenty of hits but he made them earn getting on base. Really like that guys style and is still playing well at AA. He could have gone 9 but this late in the season best to keep the number of pitches down. I think the other team pulled their guy at 66 pitches. I was actually surprised they let him go 8 as 7 usually seems the limit but nice to see him pitch so well last night. That AAA team has a great hitters lineup. I am going echo others and say Martin just keep doing what you are doing and don't worry about power. There is enough doubles power and the ability to steal bases to make him plenty valuable in other ways. Was happy to see a dominant 3 for 3. SWR has been better recently. I had been pretty down on him and thought he might fade even at the end of the season. I still think his ultimate home is in relief but he did a nice job again last night.
  9. Dman
    It is way early to compare the two and an injury to either one changes the outcome considerably, but yes given where we are right now today this is a trade that has worked out well for both teams. Twins really needed a long term front of the rotation starter and looking at the farm right now they really, really needed one. I was worried they might have gotten the wrong guy but Pablo is such an awesome person\player it makes me wonder what I was thinking. I kind of thought Luzardo was the way to go but it seemed the Marlins were less inclined to move him. They really seemed to be pushing Lopez or the Twins were only interested in Lopez because that name seemed pretty exclusive throughout the process. I was worried about this deal for a while but am back to being happy about it.
  10. Dman
    A little too early to be called a success story to me, but yeah, I am rooting for the guy. A fair number of warts in his last outing but the end result was much better than expected. Hoping he has great starts until the end of the year and he gets himself a fat contract for next year.
  11. Dman
    Yeah when you think of Keirsey over a Nick Gordon in center field it makes even more sense. Also Keirsey should be able to play all three outfield positions at a plus level. Still questions with the bat so hoping he maintains his batting line in AAA. Larnach is still a bit better at the plate than Keirsey but Keirsey could be a replacement for Larnach as well with the caveat that the bat holds up at AAA and beyond. I agree that hip injury really held him back for longer than anticipated. He has an aggressive approach with a good K rate so he has good bat to ball skills. Not enough walks though so his transition to MLB looks like it would be bumpy to me unless he maintains a good contact rate with the ball. Still the defense and ability to steal bases sure is enticing and the Twins don't have a lot of players that run above average so that brings value as well as having three option years so they can move him up and down to balance the roster as needed. Clearly a good 4th outfielder option but needs more work to be a regular IMO.
  12. Dman
    Too small a sample size to say too much about Jenkins just yet but if he keeps this up I think getting him acclimated with Kernal's makes some sense. That way he has less to worry about at the start of next year as he will know how things work there. He seems to have impressive bat to ball skills. He hadn't even struck out until his last game. The power is obviously there. IMO he doesn't need to follow the Holliday model. If he gets to High A next year that will be a good sign in and of itself for a teenager. I am hoping he is a fast mover as those players tend to be All Star type players but it has only been a few games so hard to say what his development path will be like. Still I am happy to see him doing well out of the gates it is far better than the alternative.
  13. Dman
    I believe Buxton only signed with the Twins for the incentive laden contract if he got a no trade clause. He was signing a lessor deal because he likes Minnesota and wanted to stay there. It was how the deal got done so I don't believe trading Buxton is an option.
  14. Dman
    First things first Kepler has to remain consistent the rest of the season and given his history that is far from a certainty. If he does manage that then picking up the option seems likely. I still think they might want to trade him if his value has been reestablished but they would need a really good offer to move him as this FO doesn't move players they value without getting one. If they are inclined to keep him it seems like they would want to try and deal Larnach. They have Emmanual Rodriguez who could be ready next year but more likely will need a spot by 2025. Rosario a right handed power hitter is right there with him and they could use Keirsey in a 4th outfielder role that would allow for good to great defense at all three outfield spots. Lewis might be in the mix as well. Someone is going to have to be moved at some point. I guess we will know more in the next couple of months.
  15. Dman
    First I have to say Pablo was amazing today. Nice to just see a good clean start and then mop up by Headrick. Second Props to Luplow who has already exceeded my expectations as I never thought he would have a 3 for 5 game from now until the end of the season. He took some good at bats and kind of got jobbed on his strike out at bat. If his bat can hold up even close to that against lefties he has my vote to stay in the lineup. After all the crap I have been giving Correa lately he goes out and Doubles and Homers in key situations. I guess he has me off of his back now. Donny Barrels got things started and had good at bats for the most part. He has been as good as advertised. I hope Kepler didn't hurt his foot with that hit by pitch. He was just finally having some success it would suck if he broke a bone and or had to out for a while again. Even if just a bruise given where is landed it seems likely to affect his at bats. Larnach might get another look yet. Will have to wait and see. Hoping we can take this series the way the Tigers took it to the Twins at Target Field. Would be nice to get several games above .500 and stay there this time.
  16. Dman
    I am loving Walker Jenkins as well. With the double and Home Run today he doesn't look over matched in the FCL right now. Winokur has quite the K rate but has been taking some walks and is hitting far better than I expected for an 18 year old. Those two have been quite the one, two punch for their team. Glad the OP mentioned Carr as even I had started to notice he is a stopper for that team. Andrew Morris is starting to look more interesting these days as well. AA should get a lot of pitching reinforcements next year from the loaded Kernal's team. The best thing though is that Miller had a week with a 1.000 OPS. He has struggled since turning pro with the bat so really hoping he comes on strong at the end of the year as he could be a star shortstop if the bat turns plus. ER is gonna ER some weeks and other weeks he slumps. Consistency for him is key and consistency for him would be a .900 to 1.000 OPS week in, week out as he hits the ball hard all the time. I think he can do it. He just needs to get that swing under a bit more control at times. I am still not a fan of Winkel's defense but he sure had a great week offensively. He generally is solid in the box but he really stood out this week. Seems like all the catchers in the Twins system are doing well with the bat this year. Fajardo can hit for average but if he is playing in a corner spot he needs to find a bit more power. Really interesting player the Twins brought over but the walk rate is low and the slugging is OK but needs to be higher IMO. He can steal bases but to get an outfield spot you almost have to be special and more power is the key there. Have enjoyed Ohl all the way from A ball and happy to see him doing well at AA. Kind of glad to Raya take some lumps it should make him a better pitcher down the road. Gonna focus on Larnach at AAA. On Sunday the Saints team only got three hits and Larnach had two of them. He looks healthy and appears more confident at the plate. I am still a believer but Kepler and Wallner are still ahead of him. I still think he can be a slightly above average left fielder with a big bat with power to all fields. He is going to have to impress at AAA and wait for his next shot though. There is a ton of Blue Collar guys at AAA. Prato, Helman, Keirsey, Severino, Stevenson and Williams. Guys that are right on the cusp of a 40 man spot. Out of all of them I think I like Prato the best but I wonder how many of those guys will around next year after Rule V and free agency. Great summary as always! Love these reports.
  17. Dman
  18. Dman
    Yep Minnesota didn't even get a chance to claim him as Cleveland needs outfield help as well. Looks like the 4th team in line grabbed him so he didn't make it very far.
  19. Dman
    I agree that the FO and staff have a lot more knowledge about Funderburk than the few stats we get to look at and even stats often times are not predictive level to level because players have to be able to adjust and not all of them can. Still I question just how much they know when they let go of guys like Coulombe, Hamilton, Hoffman who are doing very well for other teams. They have been right about several other relievers they let go most notably Sisk who has been terrible at AAA this year. Still if they "really know" what will make a guy successful at the MLB level they wouldn't have let those 3 guys walk this year without trying to roster them. I get all three of the names I mentioned did not have options left and the Twins wanted to have more flexibility to bring guys up and down and they also needed to work in some of those young arms taking up 40 man space but it seems like they miscalculated there. Moran was supposed to be good and he still has the same control problems he always had. Sands was supposed to be a long man but he has given up a lot of hard contact at the MLB level and it seems they don't trust him in any role other than mop up. They tried Ortega with mixed results. Winder had been a disaster until recently. Henriquez can't even get AAA hitters out and loves to give up homers. So those things make me wonder about the FO decision making when it comes to pen arms. Do they know what they are doing? or are they essentially guessing like the rest of us?
  20. Dman
    Doesn't he have to make it to Minnesota first? I mean he would be a good fit for KC or Detroit as well. Seems unlikely to make it to the Twins and if he does then other teams must feel he is cooked. Hard to believe Oakland of all teams gave up on him. Something doesn't smell right to me. He also does look like platoon only bat as his current OPS is .650. I like him better than Luplow but he has to make it to our turn to claim first.
  21. Dman
    Agree SSS makes it almost impossible to predict relievers. He doesn't have a big fastball but lot's of lefties don't. If you go back to 2022 though he was a starter and his line wasn't all that different from Varland's except Louie had a much better K rate. While in the pen Funderburk has increased his K rate. His numbers feel almost the same throughout his minor league career so I have a bit more faith than most about him. To be honest he might not be that different from Sands and he got his shot. Same with Ortega. He isn't getting any younger why wait until he turns into Ian Hamilton who would be our Bullpen ace if we had given him a chance. Hamilton has a 1.67 ERA and 1.19 WHIP at the MLB level for the Yankee's this year and he never really got a chance in MN. If Funderburk stinks then waive him because he isn't going to be any better than he is right now as like I said earlier his numbers have been good but static.
  22. Dman
    He could stand to not walk as many guys but his WHIP is still barely over 1.00 at AAA. Guys there can't touch his stuff so they aren't getting hits off of him. Also his FIP and x FIP disagree with your premise as they have him predicted at an ERA of around 3.00. Maybe his stuff doesn't play as well at the MLB level hard to say with any pitcher but his profile sure makes him look like a 40 candidate to me.
  23. Dman
    Schuffield wasn't great in A ball to start this year but I think his numbers were down due to injury, can't confirm that though. All I know is they threw him to wolves in AAA his draft year and he thrived against the really good pitching there. given his numbers there was really no reason to push him all the way down to A ball other than he got squeezed out by other players who had been in the system longer there. At any rate he is back at AA and proving once again he is a force with the bat. Fajardo can hit but just lacks real power so really good to see him with a HR last night. If he can gain more extra base pop he has the batting average to get it done his K rate is in a good place and while he could walk more since he has such good contact skills his line still looks solid to me. Twins sure have a ton a good utility bats in the system.
  24. Dman
    Really happy for Keuchel to come out and only give up one run. A bit much traffic on the bases for me, but I will take those results any day of the week. My only hope with him on the mound was to keep it close enough to give the offense a chance once Gallen was out of the game and he did just that. Couldn't have asked for more especially given his stuff in this game. Like everyone else it is nice to see Kepler emerging as a key bat in the lineup and getting key hits in games. For all the angst I have had with him he leads the team in Home Runs and plays good D in right. He has been on hot streaks before though so not buying into the SSS just yet, but needed to give him props as he has earned it. I have never liked Wallner's K rate but the kid can hit and hit the ball hard. I still have my concerns that he see's fewer fastball's as teams start to realize the damage he can cause but right now he and Jullien are doing pretty much the same things they did at AAA at the MLB level. Hopefully that remains their standard of performance. Great game with beautiful ending. Nice to have Cleveland lose late and the Twins win late for a change as it seems like the opposite was happening earlier in the year. Need to keep things rolling in Detroit as they have had our number this year and there are two lefties to conquer.
  25. Dman
    Only thing I can think of is Jose didn't like that Anderson straddled the bag because he couldn't move to either side of the bag to slide and had to slide right over the plate which looked like it hurt a bit. Not sure why it got so heated so fast though. I have never seen anything like that and Ramirez is about the last guy I would think of getting into a fight. Not sure what was said but it really got to Anderson.
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