Jump to content
Twins Daily
  • Create Account

IndianaTwin

Verified Member
  • Posts

    6,365
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    27

 Content Type 

Profiles

News

Minnesota Twins Videos

2026 Minnesota Twins Top Prospects Ranking

2022 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

Minnesota Twins Free Agent & Trade Rumors, Notes, & Tidbits

Guides & Resources

2023 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

The Minnesota Twins Players Project

2024 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

2025 Minnesota Twins Draft Pick Tracker

2026 Minnesota Twins Draft Pick Tracker

Forums

Blogs

Events

Store

Downloads

Gallery

Everything posted by IndianaTwin

  1. It's rarely as simple as Choice A vs. Choice B. For example, what impact did having an extra $7.5 million have in their ability to sign Cruz a week later? If signing Semien meant settling for Jay Bruce as the DH, it's a much different team.
  2. This week: Shoemaker-Berrios-Pineda-off day-Dobnak-Happ-Shoemaker Next week lines up for: Berrios-Pineda-Dobnak-(Maeda is eligible to come back from what seems pretty minor.) Starting pitcher availability hasn't really been an issue and doesn't appear to be a big deal going forward.
  3. Concur on needing patience. I think it's also important to recognize what is and isn't meant by a "pitching pipeline." Six Cleveland pitchers were named in the article -- Kluber, Bauer, Clevinger, Bieber, Civale and Plesac -- but it's worth noting that they debuted in six different seasons over a nine-year period. Six guys that good in nine years is impressive, but it's not like they averaging one or two new studs per year, which is how people seem to perceive it. Similarly, I'd note that during that string, though Cleveland was always competitive, they only won their division three times during that run, 2016, 2017, and 2018. Of those six guys, only Clevinger and Bieber debuted during the pennant-winning seasons, with Clevinger making 10 starts in 2016 and Bieber 19 starts in 2018. In other words, they weren't debuting new guys while they were winning pennants.
  4. I didn't get to watch much, but the word on Ober seems encouraging. I'd be cautious about thinking he'll be up long, however. I'm guessing that his start wasn't so much about earning a promotion as it was being available. Dobnak pitched five innings on Sunday, so he wasn't an option. Thorpe pitched two innings on Sunday, so he was marginally available, plus someone is needed to pitch Game 2 on Thursday, which is currently listed as TBD. With the unexpectedness, that adds to the promise that he showed. Also, at the risk of being the jinxer, don't ignore the partial inning from Colome, coming in with no warmup to finish Duffey's inning. That's his sixth straight outing without allowing a run.
  5. Just a thought on Thorpe, but pitching only two innings on Sunday likely makes him as available as a doubleheader starter as a 27th man on Thursday, no?
  6. For what it's worth, Callis, Dykstra and Mayo agree on Chalmers: https://www.mlb.com/news/these-prospects-could-be-future-closers?t=mlb-pipeline-coverage. I think they all make sense for the reasons you describe, but I doubt we see them all at once. For now, Alcala, Colome, Duffey, Robles, Rogers, seem like locks, with Thielbar, Law and Anderson the other three. With their past histories, Duffey and Colome are going to have long leashes, and the latter has started to look better. With the 17 games in 16 days stretch they are in, I suspect we'll see heavy use of the Light Rail Shuttle. I wish they'd keep either Dobnak or Thorpe around for a time to serve as a true multiple inning reliever. When a starter goes five and they are still in the game, it would be nice to go to one of those and think that they might have a shot at finishing the game. Thielbar was so good last year, but with such a small sample in 2020 and his being 34, I suspect he's the next DFA candidate. If he continues to struggle to the point of being cut loose, I think it makes sense to go to Cano next, unless Stashak has bounced back to the point of getting another shot. And of course, an injury speeds up the tryout list.
  7. If people were skeptical that last year’s shortened 60-game season didn’t represent his real self, it’s hard to get overly worked up about the 18-game start to this one, particularly given what illness and injury have done to the defense behind him.
  8. The exception is Triple A West, which for some reason has its off-day on Wednesday.
  9. Other good options are the weeks beginning May 25 and July 6, when the Saints play at Iowa and both Cedar Rapids and Wichita are at home.
  10. I thought he was a starter too, but in his admittedly small sample of 15 starts, he has lasted an average of 4.4 innings per start and made it more than 5.1 innings only twice. Those lamenting the overuse of the bullpen may be disappointed if that pattern continues. I prefer the option Mike describes three comments above, starting the first inning after Shoemaker and Happ have been pulled, going 2-3 innings. To do that requires adjusting the rotation somewhere, however, since the two are now back-to-back. But they should be doing that anyway, since it also means Maeda/Berrios/Pineda (and thus the days the bullpen is most likely to be somewhat spared) are back-to-back-to-back.
  11. I don't have a problem with how Rocco used the bullpen yesterday. I'm not completely clear on when you're suggesting he should have used Dobnak. First time through, I thought you meant use Dobnak in the 10th. If that's the case, I disagree -- I'd prefer not bringing him in to extra innings, since by definition he will start with runners on base. But if you are suggesting that Rocco go with him in the 7th, I'll sorta agree with you. In general terms, a tie game with multiple innings available could be a spot for him. In yesterday's case, with a rested bullpen, I'm fine with the approach he took. Rocco also always takes the long view, so I'm guessing he's looking to Shoemaker and Happ today and tomorrow as times he's more likely to need multiple innings from Dobnak. Which does lead me to another preference. I wish they'd align the rotation so that Maeda and Berrios, the two guys most likely to go long, weren't back-to-back. Three days of Pineda-Shoemaker-Happ is the starting combo most likely to tax the bullpen.
  12. I'll take a season where we win all the nine-inning games and lose all the extra-inning games.
  13. Seth, assuming no injuries at the MLB level requiring them to go beyond Maeda/Berrios/Pineda/Happ/Shoemaker and Dobnak, what would you project the AAA rotation to be? I’m guessing Thorpe and Smeltzer. Duran didn’t appear in a single spring training game, right? With that being the case, it seems like he’s likely to start at AA. Who would be the other three most likely to be at AAA?
  14. An extra pitcher isn’t a viable option for the next two games. Having 12 hitters, one of whom is only a pinch hitter, means you have the backup catcher and two guys who can play defense.
  15. Where's Mike Pelfrey when you need him, huh?
  16. Well, one thing they see is the ability to play CF so they don’t have a defensive outfield of Arraez-Kepler-Rooker on days Buxton is off.
  17. WIth the reality of starting pitching, I think you also have to compare at least Nos. 6, 7, and 8 and perhaps 9 and 10 as well. Each team will get a bunch of starts outside the five names listed above. From what I've read, I'll take the Twins at those positions.
  18. Call me silly, but I think Nelson Cruz makes the roster as well. [Also, you've got six infielders listed, rather than the (5) showing.]
  19. Only in the sense of having gotten a late start because of COVID.
  20. I haven't seen speculation on this, but with only two starts under his belt (and just one more scheduled, I assume, plus probably a simulated game around the 31st), I'm skeptical about Happ's likelihood for starting the season on the active roster. Starting him on the IL opens a roster spot for someone for the first week or two.
  21. The walk-back music after every strikeout he gets...
  22. Given the way catchers are used, I'd grade them in a pair, with Garver/Jeffers vs. Grandal/LuCroy, which narrows any gap considerably.
  23. I've always been a Robertson fan, so yes, on the condition that it also comes with a $250K/$500 buyout on the option for 2022.
×
×
  • Create New...