TheDean

Peterson is on the 7-day DL and hasn't pitched since July 24. I haven't seen anything mentioned on the Lookouts' site concerning his injury, so we can hope that it's just something minor.

I wonder if that could change pretty quickly though (obviously dependent on Vielema's hitting). The writing has to be on the wall at this point: Polanco is a 2B. Not enough arm for the left side. He'll be a great trade chip or good depth at 2B. Santana got his tryout. This year's tryout was almost as long as Hicks's in his rookie year, and he was sub-rookie Hicks and sub-Florimon on offense. No question that he's no Florimon on defense, though not to the level of Polanco's extreme woes. It shouldn't take much to shoot up the ladder with legit fielding and bat, with emphasis on plate discipline. ...probably

It's a good point. I mean, we're all disappointed they didn't do more to upgrade the team, but at a certain point, you gotta wonder would it be worth it for a WC spot, and could they even get that with a hypothetical "sell the farm" approach. Let's say you have a time-machine trade apparatus and go get Mariano Rivera from his prime as that key reliever who will solve everything. You still lose tonight, and you probably still lose a lot of these recent games. All the pitching in the world is worthless if you're consistently getting one or two hits in a night. Yuck.

In the last two weeks, Peterson pitched three more times. All three were two-inning appearances. The first against Biloxi included his first HR allowed this year, though he did strike out three. The second was a 1-hit scoreless outing against Montgomery. He most recently pitched last Friday with a rare 2-walk, no strikeout line. The last time he had multiple walks in a game was May 5, and the last time without a strikeout was June 6. The AA stats: 17.1 IP 3.12 ERA 1.154 WHIP 18 SO 5 BB Peterson is only 8.1 innings from matching last year's total. His 49 innings are 5th among Twins org RPs.

Peterson pitched twice more over the last week. Both games were against the Mississippi Braves. In the first game, Peterson pitched 1.1 innings and got 1 strikeout. He allowed 1 hit, his first double allowed this year. In his most recent game, he unfortunately allowed his first runs since May 5, which is an amazingly good streak. He gave up a single, a double, and a triple in an inning of work for 2 ER, while striking out 2. Southern League marks so far: 11.1 IP 1.59 ERA 0.794 WHIP 14 SO 2 BB Nothing to scoff at. Importantly, his SO/BB rate remains an excellent 7.00, much higher than has been typical for him in the past.

Yesterday I didn't realize that Chattanooga was completing their suspended game from Tuesday, so here's an extra update. Peterson was able to pitch the final two innings of the Lookouts' 5-0 win over Jacksonville. He got a strikeout and allowed one single. He still faced the minimum on 18 pitches as Max Kepler threw out the hitter trying to push for a double. 154 batters faced this year and still only one has extra bases. That makes 9 scoreless for Peterson at AA. A fellow unheralded 13th round selection for the Twins, Ryan O'Rourke, made a nice ML debut the other night, so there is good news among the relief corps in the upper minors - even if the big names are having troubles.

Since my last post, Peterson has only appeared once more, despite getting Pitcher of the Month honors from both the Twins organization and Twins Daily. Peterson came in for the last out of the 6th inning on June 29th. In his first instance of struggles at the AA level, he allowed his inherited runner to score. He allowed a walk and a single (his first at AA) before getting the inning's final out on a groundout. He started out the 7th inning by hitting the leadoff batter. He got a popout and a flyout before allowing a single and getting a strikeout to strand two on the bases. Things still looking good for Peterson in the Southern League: 7.0 IP ERA 0.00 WHIP 0.571 10 SO 2 BB 2 H Hitters have posted a .376 OPS against Peterson in 148 PAs across all levels this year.

Peterson pitched Friday in relief of Alex Wimmers, who started solidly with four scoreless innings. The wheels began to come off in the bottom of the fifth for Wimmers who eventually gave up three runs that inning. Peterson was able to strand the inherited runner with a strikeout ... eerily similar to his previous outing. Peterson was again able to demonstrate some stamina by pitching in parts of three innings just like his last game. No one reached base while he was pitching, just like last time. However, he "only" got three strikeouts in this appearance. He was once again in-line to get the win, but unfortunately Jones blew the save by allowing 4 runs in the bottom of the eighth. So far so good in AA: 5.2 IP ERA 0.00 WHIP 0.176 9 SO 1 BB 0 H 37.1 Innings pitched on the year - still only one extra base hit allowed.

On Sunday, Peterson made his second Southern League appearance. Peterson came into the game in the sixth inning with two outs, trying to keep things in reach after Jacksonville did some damage to Shibuya's line (5 ER in 2.2 IP). Peterson stranded an inherited runner at third by striking out his man. He went on to pitch the seventh and eighth innings. No one got on base. Five batters failed to put the ball in play. 2.1 0 0 0 0 5 is a good line for a guy's second crack at a new league. Oh yeah, and that high-quality Chattanooga lineup backed Peterson to his second win of the year, first at AA. AA stats: 3.1 IP ERA 0.00 WHIP 0.300 6 K 1 BB 0 H

Peterson debuted in the 8th inning of tonight's game, unfortunately not in a setup role, but mopping up instead. He issued a walk on four straight balls to the first batter he faced, but fought back to get a groundout, popout, and a swinging strikeout (of former Twins farmhand Kenny Wilson), stranding his runner at first. 1/4 FPS isn't a great start, but he got the job done, which was desperately needed as three Lookouts pitchers had combined for 8 ERs in the preceding inning (including an ugly 5-ER, 0 out appearance from Burdi). AA Statline: ERA 0.00 WHIP 1.000

I know that everyone is eager to see Sano, but a LH bat in the process of heating up might be the logical choice as a Vargas replacement at DH. They'd still have the ability to use Hunter as a RH DH. ...but first Arcia needs to get that bat going. Gotta see some more of those games with 4+ TBs.

Definitely. That's why I was saying that I don't think Rosario goes to AAA any time soon. You can't send a guy down because he's being too successful. You just need to be prepared in case of an extreme drop off. We'll see what the move is soon enough based on whether Hicks gets DL time. Rosario has to be safe IMO. To me it's a bullpen guy or Robinson, but I'm not the GM.

True. And that's the trouble. I wouldn't have much confidence with well over 50% of the rostered position players. Short view: Hicks doesn't hit much, but neither does anyone else outside of the first four in the lineup. Long view: Hicks can still be a decent role player on this team even if he's not the hero with bases loaded every single time.

I concede that Hicks may end up being a career 4th OF. However, IMO, Hicks is not the 25th guy to be sent down for Buxton. Hicks is #6 in OBP on this team ...which is insane (with my admittedly arbitrary cutoff of 70 PA). In terms of lineup futility, Robinson, Suzuki, Santana (when he was here), and Escobar are on a lower level than Hicks...which is hard to believe. I'll grant that Buxton doesn't play catcher or SS so Zuke and Escobar (as a SS) are safe. Still, they should be able to cut the bullpen by one or drop Robinson before they go after Hicks. Rosario is being inflated by a team-leading BABIP. He's walked three times this year, and I think he could come crashing down. Not that he should go to AAA, but just to moderate any opinions asserting that Rosario (in his current form) is the new long term compliment to Buxton. That said, he's done a lot more with his first ML opportunity than Hicks did.

Give me Tyner or give me death.

Weird, I feel like I saw that before...

It's Brandon Peterson Promotion Day, everyone! After a two-strikeout 13th inning save yesterday night, the Twins organization must have decided that Peterson has shown enough at Ft. Myers where he went 1-0 with 3 saves this year. His 2015 Florida State League efforts demonstrated absolute dominance over opposing hitters who slashed .135/.244/.154 in his 21 appearances (31.2 IP). They managed one extra base hit, and Peterson accumulated a 0.85 ERA and 0.916 WHIP, while striking out 12.5 per nine. The sole sticking point in his performance was the 15 walks he gave up, mainly in the early season. Best of luck to a hometown kid as he moves on to the Southern League, from which you can almost see the lights of Target Field.

I guess for me it doesn't matter what Hicks did. I just see .414 OBP as "being able to take a walk." I see .551 SLG as "hitting the ball for extra bases with some frequency." I'd say he has things figured out. It's a SSS, sure, but it's nothing anomalous. It's what I'd expect from a guy who has the skills to crush minor league pitching and who minor league pitchers are probably going to put on base regularly.

I understand that the bullpen is a bit taxed right now, and the rotation is somewhat out of whack, so they can't probably go back to 12 pitchers in the immediate future. That'll have to be a later move. However, I don't see the issue with Vargas for Santana. Santana is currently sub-Florimon offensively with a pretty normal BABIP. Can't the Twins roll with Escobar at SS and Nunez as the backup? Or do we need to continue rostering 5 shortstops or former shortstops...plus the failed Rosario 2B experiment? I realize Escobar is having his own struggles, but they're on a lower level and magnified by his time at DH. Nunez is getting arb money, and he should earn it doing his proper job: infield UT and emergency corner OF - not regular platoon at DH and LF.

So far in June, Peterson has been called into two games, both multi-inning appearances. He pitched the final two outs of the seventh and completed the eighth against Charlotte on Wednesday. He struck out three, walked none, and allowed no hits. One batter reached on an error and stole a base. Yesterday, he pitched the ninth and tenth innings against Bradenton. He allowed 1 hit with no walks or strikeouts. He was named Twins Minor League Player of the Week for last week based on these performances. Opposing batting line: .139/.250/.158 good for a .408 OPS. Peterson has appeared in the second most games in the Twins farm system with 20 (A.J. Achter leads with 23). ERA now at 0.88 and FIP at 1.92. K% still solid at 35.3% and walk rate improving to 12.6%.

If they can do damage with a lineup like this, what happens when they replace the backup futility DH with Vargas, give Pinto a chance behind the plate, and let Esco play SS? It gives me hope against the sometimes insurmountable fear of regression.

I forgot to add last night's game here: scoreless 9th and 10th, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts, 0 hits. Opposing SLG down to .170. (.442 OPS) ERA to 1.00. FIP at 1.97. He ranks third in the FSL in both ERA and FIP among pitchers with >20 IP. He sits atop the FSL's K% leaderboard at 36.9%.

I wouldn't mind this swap. Not sure if it's the best roster construction, but let Eduardos SS and UT, have Santana figure out AAA, and give Pinto time at C/DH. I like it. Down the road, swap Herrmann and Vargas?

Peterson got his second save of the season on Thursday. He pitched a scoreless 7th inning in the first game of a doubleheader versus Clearwater, preserving a 2-1 lead. This was his second appearance since his first save. He pitched a scoreless 8th against Brevard County, despite allowing a hit and walking one. He had one strikeout. On the season, hitters have amassed a nearly futile .183 SLG against Peterson. Another way to look at it: Hitters have 15 total bases against him in 25 innings. Selected stats: ERA 1.08, FIP 2.06, WHIP 1.08, K% 35.4

Exactly why I thought it was an interesting comparison. Their arcs have been closely matched thusfar in a number of domains: trips to the minors and back, age/performance, etc. Their differences mainly are in defensive ability and value relative to their offensive output, and of course their age. Hicks should have a chance here to depart from the Parmelee-an trips up and down with this exceedingly weak OF on a team that's actually in contention. He's actually the best play there. It's certainly frustrating that it appears a prospect needs to go on BABIP-fueled binge for about half a season a-la Santana to deserve at bats. Reminder: Hicks's dismal SSS OBP (.261 right now) is still higher than Danny's or Schafer's, his primary replacements late season last year. I need to see more of Hicks, and I actually think it's time for Santana to spend some time back in AAA. Similar to Hicks going into this year, he has yet to "master" that level. He's had almost 600 continuous PAs at the ML-level (in contrast to Parmelee or Hicks) and has yet to display plate discipline. .253 is an unacceptable OBP, and he even has a .324 BABIP, so it's not as if he's unlucky. I'm rambling a bit, but my takeaway is that sometimes trips to AAA are good (Hicks needed one sooner when he had his first callup to the bigs, Santana might need one now). Sometimes they're bad (like Parmelee's yo-yoing and Hicks's, to some extent). In any case, I disaree with strawman who thinks the Twins should cut Hicks from the team right now because of reasons I can't fathom, such is the nature of strawmen.