Dman

Nice to see a good debut from Festa looks like the lighter workload has him back in better form. We are going to need close to ready arms next year and he and Varland look like the only one's ready right now. Hopefully Raya and Nowlin make the jump next year and those High A arms should be in AA next year so hopefully a few more ready by 2025. I really like how Andrew Stevenson looks at the plate. He seems too good to be at AAA to me, but probably not good enough to hold down a starting job at the MLB level. Still he would be a good 4th outfielder. I wonder if he moves to KC or Colorado or something next year to see if he can make the 40 man for a team with less talent in center. The Kernals have a 5 game lead in the second half but Peoria has a much easier schedule. It is a fair bit of ground to make up but the Kernals need some more wins to win their league in both halves.

If that truly was the case and that obvious why did the Twins feel the need to retaliate? I guess they just don't know what's going on in the game?

Good to see Helman back and popping HR's. That injury was a huge bummer but at least he is back looking like pretty much the same hitter. I have to say I had kind of given up on Willi Joe Gary but here he is doing better than Tanner Schobel at AA. I don't understand what changed but he is hitting for good power and all his other tools are plus so if he finds that hit tool on a consistent basis that would be quite the break for the Twins. Still a long way to go but it is nice to say something positive about the young man for once. He hasn't had much press to this point. Andrew Morris with another really good outing and that pen for Cedar Rapids is a rock. Very close game but they managed the win with a very well pitched game.

from what I saw that was a pitching clinic by Cleveland's pitchers. Everything was on the edges up, down, inside outside with a few down the middle for first pitch strikes. Cleveland's system must do a really good job of helping their pitchers develop that pin point control of the edges. Based on MLB gameday even though a fair number of Cleveland's pitchers pitches seemed just outside the box it looked like the zone was expanded all around the edges last night but kudo's to the Cleveland pitchers who kept things close enough and made it really hard on our hitters last night. Still the Twins had some chances to rally at least early and it just didn't happen. Was hoping Correa would K instead of hit into yet another double play helping the pitcher out once again. Cleveland was the better team last night and it showed. We need to get the win this afternoon and then try to keep Texas on their heels.

His release seemed to be brewing almost from the beginning of the season. I can't see him on another team unless he is willing to do a AAA stint. Maybe the A's or Rockies would want him? He just hasn't been very good for the last couple of years now and his age has him far past his prime. Might time for him to retire.

Yeah only one game so far for Kody and Balazovich and others had good starts only to get clobbered once teams had more time to see what they throw and when they throw it. I have been a big Funderburk backer as he has been good the whole way up. No elite pitches and a not "fast" fastball are the things that have held him back but the good to great results were always there. It is sink or swim time, but I believe he is gonna make it. Triple A hitters have killed pitchers this year and he has been rock solid. Will have to wait and see as MLB is on another level but his debut was excellent and similar to what he did at AAA. Here's to hoping he can adjust when it comes time to adjust.

Hate to keep repeating myself but Miller is really having a breakout month. If his bat is this good moving forward he is going to be one heck of a good player.

I tend to agree with the OP it seems like the players that are coming out of the minors these days know the zone better than the Umpires. Granted some of the misses are quite small, but they are out of the box., It works both ways though as some calls the pitcher isn't getting and that helps the hitter. It is just that the zone gets expanded more often than tightened so it affects hitters more. Personally I think everyone benefits from a consistent zone and the game was always meant to be called that way but it is harder than ever to get calls right with all the movement pitches have and the speed they are thrown. Time for technology to take over IMO.

Have to say when I checked and the Twins were down 4-0 I kind of gave up right there. Cleveland pitching is usually so good it would be hard to come back from that deficit alone and with Maeda doing so poorly and a taxed bullpen the odds of a comeback seemed very low to me. After that it seemed like my every hope came true. When Lewis was up to bat I was hoping HR and it happened. When Polanco was up I was thinking a home run here would give the team breathing room and it happened. When Funderburk came out I was thinking I hope he pitches like he did at AAA and he had a great first outing. I was hoping Winder could replicate his outing from last time out and he did. Hard to believe that after that rough start most everything went the Twins way. It was a great way to start the series as it should give the team positive vibes as they try to get through this tough part of the schedule. They need to keep their foot on the gas so that they put the division away.

I hate the unwritten rules as much or more than anyone so I don't agree with what the Twins did there. Still I don't buy Garver's explanation. It is like no pitcher plans to bean someone unless of course you can get them to admit it. Garver states, hey, no way we bean Jeffers because Gallo is up. Who would you rather pitch to? Gallo who K's at 43% rate with a .177 BA or Jeffers with a .280 BA and 29% K rate. It seems obvious to me and it seemed obvious to the Twins. They were gonna work around Jeffers and why not plunk him in the process. I can acknowledge Dunning did not have great control but he didn't hit anyone else with that crappy control only Jeffers.

It just seemed odd that is was him to me. So many other guys to hit and it ends up Jeffers? Also Twins are the second or third most plunked team this year. All HBP are accidents I guess. Why hit Garver then or was that just another accident as well. Farmers HBP was an accident as well but it was damaging. Maybe it was unintentional to Jeffers I have no idea but that is one mighty coincidence IMO.

Yeah it all started with Jeffers Bat flip. If Texas knew how hard wins (especially late game wins) for this team have been they would have understood the excitement and bat flip. There is no way for a team to look more like a petulant child (i.e. bad) when they plunk the guy with the game winning hit from the night before. If I were Garver I would blame my own pitcher for plunking Jeffers for no good reason. I don't love teh retaliation by the Twins any more than Texas plunking Jeffers but that is what games devolve into when a team just has to enforce the unwritten rules.

Yeah given Castro's back issue it might be prudent to have his clone (Martin) available. I agree though that I don't think they will do it, but maybe they will surprise us?

Yeah Martin is showing why he was a top 25 top 100 prospect not that long ago. His contact oriented swing appears to be back and he has added some power. It will never be elite power but enough to keep pitchers honest. There is a ton to like in his Small Sample Size,, but that is all it is at this point a small sample size. In general he is a Castro clone with better plate discipline and they already have Castro on the roster. Sure they could swap him for Luplo but once guys like Castro, Kirilloff and Buxton get back just how many at bats would there be for Martin at the MLB level? I think it will take a late season injury or two before we see Martin. I have to believe the Twins want him to get as many at bats as possible after being injured earlier in the year and relying on SSS's isn't a good way to manage your 40 man roster. I am incredibly happy to see Martin performing at a level we thought was a given when we traded for him. If he makes it to MLB this year great if not I get some of the reason's why the Twins aren't quite ready to move him there just yet. He will be added to the 40 man in the offseason for sure and will be a big part of the core of this team in the future hopefully turning into a pseudo Arraez clone over time.

I had the Twins being lucky to win one game against Texas. Winning the series was not on my radar. This late in the season that was a huge series win. Still 9 tough games to go but this was a great start to a difficult two week schedule. Lewis was clutch that Grand Slam got the Twins back in the game and they were dialed in when they needed runs they managed to get them. I will take a win over a loss any day. They are going to face some tough pitching in Cleveland coming to town. I hope the bats are ready and the arms can hold up.

There is a decent chance that Paddack's arm doesn't hold up or doesn't do well to start the season like Maeda. Varland can step in there and you need some depth for injuries. Also Louie has had trouble getting guys out at AAA this year. He hasn't been as consistent as years past. Not sure they can "rely" on him through a full season yet. He will get chances but he has to perform on a consistent basis to stay on the MLB level.

I just can't see Lewis willing to do a money saving deal for the Twins. He has the money from being a first round draft pick and is the type of person who believes in himself and his ability. He doesn't seem like a second guesser about his future health to me so why do a discount? That is issue number one for me. Issue number two is that he hasn't played that long and already has an injury history with two ACL surgeries. Call them freak or fluky or whatever but that creates more than normal risk for the team investing in the player long term. I don't see this FO taking on that kind of risk when they can easily wait at minumum one more year to see how he holds up for a full season. Also lot's of these deals get done just before the arb deals kick in so there is time to do this later when both sides have more info. It just seems to early for both sides to do this IMO

Yeah if he goes for that the Twins would have a tough time finding a better arm for less money. If that isn't enough I would go with a third year option of 15 to 20M with a 5M buyout. That way if they don't want him after the second year there is an easy out and it turns the 15M to 17.5 for those two years. This would all be contingent on his current numbers holding up to the end of the season as of right now his numbers say he is a top of the rotation pitcher. Anything under 20M for a top of the rotation arm is a bargain. Hard to say if he would go for that or not but it would be a place to start. Odds are unless he "really" likes the Twins he shops the FA market though.

With so little movement on this issue I think MLB wants the human umps to use discretion to keep teams in games by squeezing or not squeezing one side. Otherwise it makes no sense not to move to robo umps. I can't think of another single argument other than MLB wants the controversy of inconsistently called balls and strikes to impact games as it creates emotional chatter.

Yeah McCusker is interesting. He looks a bit like Winokur in that he is so tall. Watched his last at bat On MiLB.tv and was going to write that he didn't seem have a good eye at the plate and that might be why the K rate is so high and then down to his last strike he hit his second home run of the game. He has managed around a .900 OPS where ever he has been but the 35% or above K rate does lead one to believe he has trouble recognizing pitches. Fix that and he would be an awesome MLB player kind of Judge like but eye at the plate generally is not easy to fix.

First let me say I really admire Kenta and the fact he bet on himself with an incentive laden contract. He knew teams felt the arm was an issue and he was willing to share the risk if something went wrong. I like who he is as a teammate. He seems thoughtful and reserved and I admire those traits. I would like to see him remain a Twin. If he continues to pitch like he has been to end the year and or even slides just a little but doesn't tank I think with the numbers he has It would 15M to 20M per year to sign him. His 32%K rate with a 1.17 WHIP and as mentioned in the article sub 3.00 ERA since he wasn't quite built all the way back up puts him in pretty elite company. I get that he doesn't have great velocity and is old which comes with risk but given what teams have been willing to invest in pitchers like Rich Hill, Verlander, Sherzer etc. odds are he gets at least a two year deal and I wouldn't be surprised if he managed 2 years with a 3rd year option and fairly high buyout. Maybe he would go for a QO on a one year deal? Seems unlikely as this might be his last big pay day and he would want to maximize years and dollars. The question I have is does he like it in Minnesota? He seems like someone that might like the West Coast better. When he had his chance to choose it was LA. I don't know if he even wants to stay with Minnesota so that might play into it as well. If he continues to pitch well the Twins would be wise to bring him back but if they can't they should at least QO him. He might not bring back a sup first rounder but would bring back something if he left. If they can keep him they know who they are getting and that he fits in the club house. As stated in the article Gray is gone and Paddack is no sure thing. Ober and Ryan look OK if they can avoid injury. Varland has been up and down all year there isn't much behind Louie as Headrick hasn't been as good after the half way mark. If they can get Kenta to come back they should do it.

I think we will know more about how this all shakes out in two weeks. None of the three teams have shown any real consistency but with the Twins losing so many winnable games they have put themselves in a tough spot if either Detroit or Cleveland go on any kind of run they could pass the Twins. Was thinking of the irony if Detroit would catch the Twins at the end kind of like the Twins did to the Tigers when they were six or seven games back with a month to go. Karma could come back to hurt them if that happened.

For playoffs I don't disagree but I am starting to question if they will make it given how poorly the pen has been doing recently. They could get swept by Texas then they play Cleveland whose rotation is just as good and pen better than ours and we have a tough time with the Guardians in General and those are our next 12 games or so. If they don't find some wins there things are going to get tough right quick. Also I don't know if the Tigers are for real but if they keep plugging away they play the Yankee's who don't look that good right now a bunch and then they have a pretty easy schedule the rest of the way just like the Twins. If they reel us in things look tough again. If this team doesn't get its act together soon they won't make the playoffs.

My point is they all have been bad and just because you acquire someone doesn't mean they will be better just like last year. Yep always a chance things work out great or better than expected but when Duran and Jax who have just blown up games recently aren't getting it done what difference does it really make if you added one more arm that may help for one inning? it isn't going to move the needle unless most of the rest of the pen does the job and they haven't been.

You don't see many 5 hit nights ever so congrats to Garlick on a dialed in night. Stevenson continues to be a catalyst for that team and the Saint's bats are hard to hold down in general. Miller with a .789 OPS for August so far. He has never had an .800 OPS month I don't believe so that would be a huge accomplishment for a 20 year old at High A and a great way to finish off his year. I was surprised to see Festa pitch so well. He looked more like himself after they gave him some rest down the stretch. Would be nice to see him finish strong as he looks like the only arm other than Varland that might be able to help the Twins next year. Also nice to see De Andrade collect a few more hits. It looks like he will move up a level next year for sure given how well he has done at A ball this year. He and Olivar had been the best bats on that team most of the season until some recent draft reinforcement's. Personally I think Olivar could have moved up mid season but with the catcher backlog at High A there just wasn't room for him to catch there and that team is pretty loaded at every position right now.