TheDean

I like the comparison to Cuddy. I don't like the promotion/demotion idea, but the options shouldn't matter since they've both used theirs for the year, so they can go up and down as much as they'd like. Maybe someone can verify, but I think it's possible that his numbers in the minors (especially below AA) profile differently because he was a very different player in some sense back then. He played all over the OF, including CF, and his bat matched that. As he advanced, I think he gained a lot of weight and morphed into more of a prototypical corner OF power hitter. A bit speculative, but that could have something to do with his struggles if it constituted an appreciable change in approach relatively recently.

I agree. I've been one of CC's biggest fans, but his ceiling is a powerful but streaky, high-quality replacement player who should be a bench bat, DH, or 1B. Although there are varying opinions on Ozzie's ceiling, it's certainly higher than CC's. In my view, you need to keep the best talent on the 25-man, if possible. Only dip into the replacement reserve when you're forced to by injury. That said, I'm not necessarily in agreement with those who say that Arcia needs to play every single game. In a slump like this, maybe he needs a day or two off and get a fresh look, especially if you're facing tough lefties. Parms is the only other RF option, but he's been pretty hot lately, and I think it's worth it to get Arcia's head right and avoid having to make him pack his bags for Rochester.

Maybe we can get the #FreeAnyoneintheRochesterRotation hashtag trending on Twitter?

Meh, recent Twins rotation 2014 average FB velocities to the nearest MPH according to Pitch F/X: Hughes - 92 Gibson, Pelfrey - 91 Nolasco, Correia, Deduno - 90 Pino - 89 He's not necessarily an outlier in terms of uninspirational velocity... but on the 30-year-old rookie point, I have to agree with you.

Peterson was back to his usual performance against Bradenton earlier this week. He pitched the 7th inning, facing only 3 batters. He got one groundout and struck out two. His Ft. Myers ERA sits at 3.07, and his WHIP is 1.091. His SO/W is 5.25. For the season as a whole, he's 1.98, 0.988, and 6.67 for ERA, WHIP, and SO/W.

I don't watch every game, but it seems like he has been swinging at that 1st pitch a little more often over the last few weeks (I'll be the first to admit that I don't have statistical backup on that). That said, his swing seems like it needs some tweaks to drive that pitch to right. He seems to miss it or make poor contact, even when he swings at a middle/in 1st pitch FB. Concussions are tough. I know some friends that fought through them in high school sports (lacrosse/hockey), and they had a tough time looking at screens/driving/reading books/etc, even months after the concussion. Tracking ML fastballs at 95 mph and reacting....it's easy to imagine it being problematic. Then again, not all concussions are made the same, not all athletes are made the same, and none of us are qualified to evaluate athletes, concussions, or athletes with concussions. My own anecdotal experience just leads me to a convenient (true or not) explanation for how a player on a potential HoF track could precipitously drop to statistics that say "needs to be platooned against LH and is replacement-level against RH."

Garver has been keeping up his great pace from earlier this month. If my count is correct, he has reached base in 24 straight games (May 20th). In 57 June PAs, Garver is hitting .356/.491/.489. That's right, he has gotten on base in roughly half his PAs this month. On the season, he has an OBP of .404, only 3 points behind the organizational leader, Debinson Romero. His discipline has seemingly gotten better throughout the year, though his power has dropped significantly after his 5 HR April. Since then, he has hit one on May 26 and one on June 1. On the defensive front, he has gotten a slight bump in playing time behind the plate, but still spends a significant number of games at DH. In 31 games at catcher, he has allowed 7 PB, 26 SB, and caught 11 would-be base stealers, good for a 30% CS%. He has been charged with 2 errors while playing catcher. (Also has 2 E at 1B, but he has only played 4 games there).

Even though it's probably sacrilege on TD, I'd almost go with a 13th pitcher instead of Florimon (if I knew that Nunez was 100%...which they/we were/are not totally sure on). Considering the inability of non-Hughes/Gibson starters to go >6 IP, another pitcher probably gives the greatest impact ... temporarily. It seems like the bullpen is overworked...but since it's real life and not a video game, you can't just pull up the stamina bars.

Since my last post, Peterson has had 3 more appearances. He pitched scoreless 7th and 8th innings against the Lakeland Flying Tigers, allowing 1 hit and striking out 1. He was credited with the win, his first at Ft. Myers. In a game at Jupiter, he ran into the first real trouble he's had at the A+ level. The starter pitched to one batter in the 8th, giving up a single. Peterson came on and got a groundout, but the following batter singled up the middle to score the inherited runner from second. The next batter doubled, plating the runner from 1st, at which point Peterson was pulled. Gruver relieved Peterson, eventually allowing Peterson's runner to score. All said, Peterson allowed 2 ER and got one ground-ball out. Yesterday, Peterson pitched one and a third innings of extra baseball against Charlotte. The good: all four outs were strikeouts. The bad: Peterson allowed 3 hits (one was an RBI triple) and walked one, allowing two earned runs and being charged with his first loss of 2014. It was a tough pair of outings for Peterson as his ER total on the year (6) is now 3 times what it was going into the game against Jupiter (2). On the luck-based front, his BAbip over the last 2 games is .833 ... Basically, there were two outcomes for batters in the two games, hit or strikeout (with the exception of one batter who walked and the other who grounded out). On the season, Peterson should be due to see some more batted balls find his fielders as his total BAbip sits at .356. Then again, I don't know if BAbip stays somewhat elevated in the minors due to potentially lower-quality fielding...

These comments on the Twins "Nearing the end of their patience" combined with posters that are fine seeing Hicks getting sent away... I feel like I watch baseball in a totally different universe. Speculation: "People" in the FO don't like his effort. Hicks has a bad attitude. Hicks seems like he doesn't have much drive to win. Hicks isn't willing to make adjustments to succeed at the ML level. Facts: Since being "called out," Hicks has put up respectable numbers across the board and has made good plays in the field in limited playing time. The Twins organization is scraping the barrel for CF depth. Hicks is the best OF on the 25-man roster (okay, this is just my opinion, but an educated one?) Hicks chose to abandon switch hitting because he felt it gives him a better chance at success long-term. We can debate whether that decision was a smart one, but you cannot deny that making such a large change in approach demonstrates his determination to be a successful major-league player, whatever it takes. He is near the Mendoza-line in BA and has a very respectable OBP. His OPS+ is 7 points higher than last year. He surprisingly has positive BbRef oWAR at this point (0.3). My conclusion: Hicks needs PAs, not bench time, especially in light in changing to RH only. He deserves PAs because he is talented, has desire to succeed, and fills a position of organizational need. A demotion to AAA should be based on his need for PAs, not speculation about poor character or the FO/Strib's desire to never have vacancy in the doghouse located under the team bus.

TD seems to rarely come to a consensus on things, but one point that was made loud and clear on the debate over the interesting handling of OF depth in the early parts of the season was the importance of every spot on the 25-man. Right now IMO, Pinto>all Twins minor league position players for spot 25, and Pinto >> all Twins minor league catchers. Someone interpreted the Morales signing as "young players aren't going to play and struggle at the ML level the rest of this year." My interpretation is "let's try to win some games and make the AL Central interesting." If you're trying to win, you assemble the best 25-man at your organization's disposal, and you put the best lineup(s) out there day in and day out. It just so happens that (unfortunately) Pinto is a member of the organization's 25 best players, but not one of their best 9. Fortunately, he has a great bat and plays a position that requires the starter to be spelled with greater frequency than any other position. If we're not seeing Pinto a few times a week, we'd have to watch Fryer or Herrmann behind the plate. I know which of the three I'd choose. Pinto is on a trajectory almost identical to Dozier and Plouffe as far as talent/age/tools/defensive questions. IMO, Dozier and Plouffe made their best adjustments and developments at the ML-level over the last few years, but then I'm just a casual observer...coaches are paid for a reason.

Since Hammer missed so much time, it might be best to look at HR rates instead of totals. In any case, he and Dozier have nearly identical AB/HR (about 17), so I agree Willingham is fine to stay cleanup, and ideally Dozier bats 3, but 2 is fine since he has speed. AB/HR leaders on the Twins (Warning - variable sample sizes): Hammer - 17.3 Dozier - 17.8 Arcia - 18.0 Pinto - 19.3 Parms - 22.3 Nunez - 29.5 All others are below league average (37.3)

Fun one about TD's favorite two debate topics: Hicks has passed Mauer in OBP (.338 to .336) What planet do we live on again?

Over the last week, Garver has cooled a bit, but continues to get on base most nights. He is second on the Kernels' HR leaderboard with 7 (to Haar's 8), last hitting one out on June 1st. Fangraphs has him at a wRC+ of 147, and his batting stands .299/.396/.472 on the season. Over the last 7 days, he's .211/.423/.211. His defensive time has been split 28/27/4 games played at C, DH, and 1B, respectively.

Agreed. Heck, if we're going to pass judgement on a SSS, he has a lower K% than last year. His minor league OBP was consistently in the .350-.400 range. Will he achieve that in the majors? Maybe not, but he knows how to get some walks. Once he learns how to lay off breaking pitches from LOOGYs and the up&in FB at the ML, he's going to be good - actually better than good. I mean, that sequence where he hit the grand slam... he took three straight pitches, fouled one off, and hit the big one. He showed some patience, but knew what to do with 2 outs, bases loaded, 2-2 count when he was given the pitch he wanted.

Earlier this week, Peterson pitched the fifth and sixth innings of a game against the Tampa Yankees. He allowed 1 hit, faced 7 batters, and struck out 5 of them, the most he has struck out in any game this season. His K/9 is up to 12.6 at A+, best on the team (Berrios is second at 10.4). At 22, he is also the third youngest pitcher at Ft. Myers (Berrios and Gilbert are 20 and 21, respectively). For players with >20 IP on the year, Peterson is near the top in many organizational categories (using combined CR and FM stats): 1st in K/9 and K/BB, 2nd to Oliveros in ERA, 3rd to Achter and Pino in WHIP. Followers of the Twins affiliates shouldn't sleep on Peterson; a 13th-round reliever isn't going to be the most heralded prospect, but he has kept up good numbers in all three levels he's pitched. For comparison, he's putting up slightly better numbers in nearly all categories (ERA, WHIP, H/9, K/9, K/BB, BB/9) than Tonkin, who played at both Beloit and Ft. Myers in his age-22 season. Granted I'm looking at 60 IP of data for Tonkin that year and only 20 IP for Peterson.

Zukes AND Pinto! This might be the best lineup Gardy has put together all season (offensively anyway, not sure that the defense in the OF will do Nolasco too many favors).

I agree. Even in the case of IF injuries, I like Nunez and Santana to supplement Escobar a lot better than last year's Escobar and Carroll to supplement Florimon. Not saying that IF injuries wouldn't be devastating, just that I like the depth a little better than last year.

On the topic of CG-capable pitchers, I think Hughes and Nolasco are capable. Not sure about likely on a regular basis, but capable. If Hughes can avoid 14-pitch ABs, we've seen him go into the 8th, and Nolasco, as mentioned, has already given a CG. Deduno is obviously not capable of going deep into games; it's just not his pitching style. KC doesn't have the stuff to get a non-fluke CG. With Gibson, I feel like there is a hesitance by the staff to allow him the pitches to seal up a CG, even if his stuff got to the point that he were technically capable. Still, on the topic of improvement, I think this rotation > (Walters, Hernandez, Hendriks, Pelf, DeVries, Worley, Diamond) at avoiding losing streaks.

Garver is on an eight-game hitting streak, and turned things around in the second half of May with batting lines that look more like his blazing start. He has pulled his OPS back up to .880, and was able to add almost 100 points to his May OPS during the last few series of the month. He is old for the level, and seems to be dominating the MWL pitchers. Not sure who is most ripe for replacement in the levels above. Fortunately for Garver (or unfortunately for the farm teams), there are only two Twins organization catchers with an OPS >.700: Garver and Herrmann. Not sure if they'd have him jump two levels, but as suggested by Willihammer, Knudson has looked especially inept, sporting an OPS under Garver's SLG. The only thing that could hold him back is any remaining worries about his defense behind the plate. He's played <50% of games in catcher's gear, though I'm not sure if it's due to lack of defensive chops, or just how Mauer decided to split time between catchers. On a personal note, the excitement of an adopted prospect's possible promotion is palpable. Hoping to go 2/2 on Kernels prospects!

Another post, another pair of appearances for Peterson. His eighth-inning against the Blue Jays back on the 21st was the second appearance all year without a strikeout. He induced two pop-ups and a groundout. On the 27th he finished the game against the Clearwater Threshers, pitching the ninth in a non-save situation. He allowed a groundball hit and stuck out 1, getting two flyouts end the inning. Through 8 innings at Fort Myers, batters are hitting a measly .179 off him.

Even though the Twins have had a tough stretch, the lineup just feels a little more exciting with Danny, Ozzie, Eddie E, and Josmil-ie.

If memory serves, this time last year, Dozier was hitting worse than Hicks is now, Hicks was hitting worse than Hicks is now, and Florimon was playing every day. Morneau was in some kind of powerless blackhole, and Doumit was getting ABs, oftentimes in the OF over Arcia and Parms. 1 starter had an ERA under 5 in the month of May last year: PJ Walters (This year isn't much better, only Hughes and Deduno meet that metric). My personal bar for entertainment is improvement. I hate seeing my team get worse. If they're getting better, I'm entertained, though I admit "improvement" is a very subjective term. Still, given that background, yes I'm entertained. The bar is low, but we've seen the Twins fail to clear low bars before. Maybe that's just because I have feelings for the 2011-2013 Twins that amount to whatever the opposite of nostalgia is.

I agree. Plouffe has been a pleasant surprise. After Kubel and Colabello nosedived, Plouffe and Zukes have continued to produce (while coming back to Earth a little bit). Mauer doesn't look like Mauer. It's weird. Maybe it's injury (related or unrelated to the concussion), but I also wonder how much lack of conditioning plays a part. How much do pro ballplayers rely on their offseason conditioning? I had read that Mauer had been out of baseball from the time of going on the DL till Spring Training. That's a long time... Back on the point of the thread, I had a feeling that the phrase "Needs to Step Up" would ruffle some feathers. It seems a bit harsh. I would say instead that the Twins really need Arcia and Hammer to pick up the slack that Kubel and CC have left behind. If they can produce from the corners, I like the look of a team that includes suddenly good (or lucky) bats at SS, two fine receivers, an improved 3B, and a potential ASG candidate at 2B. I'll be happy if Hicks is the only void in the lineup. Among lineup voids, he is better than both Florimon and "pre-adjustment" Dozier of 2013.

Garver started the year on fire, posting a 1.041 OPS in 92 PAs during April. Since then, he has cooled down. His May OPS sits at .629 in 79 PAs with a week left in the month. On the season, he is now .248/.374/.473. All facets of his game are hurting compared to the previous month, but none so much as his slugging. Dropping from .628 to .300 SLG will bring you back to earth fast. Still, Garver should be able to turn this around. He hasn't strung together any streaks of hitless games since a four-game stretch to start May.