jimbo92107

Mentor him in what - how to eat a burrito grande? If the Twins get this kid, I'm hoping he'll stay thin. If he really swings like old Ted, he won't need the extra beef.

At this point I have no idea which way the Twins will go with their #6 pick. There doesn't seem to be a lot of incredible stand-outs in this draft. Maybe just Best Player Available, and look for a stud ace another year. Damn shame; the Twins may not get another pick this high for a while.

He's not finishing his follow-through. He's abbreviating his finish by not bending over enough at the waist, and his pitching hand is barely finishing past his ribs, much less whipping past his lower leg, where it belongs. On the middle clip, the so-called "cutter," look how he hops off his landing foot at the end of his motion. So much for putting side spin on the ball, he just floated his hand around it, barely getting enough RPM's to create a couple inches of bend. The drill I'd do with Hughes is simple: After every pitch, roll him a quick grounder. One to the left, one to the right, a bunt, a pop... Make him finish on balance and in position to field, which just so happens to be a good follow through, too. I know, Hughes has an upright, stand-up style. Problem is, if your right elbow doesn't finish outside your left knee, where's the waypoint to help with consistency? Maybe he can find it with more of those shortstop drills, so he can locate his natural arm slot. Otherwise, he may need a lot more practice fielding rockets in his direction. Right now, he's throwing awfully flat stuff.

Trevor May is an interesting guy. Built like Joe Mauer, and he appears equally even tempered. It doesn't surprise me that he is observing the good habits of great pitchers and learning to incorporate them into his own game. He's right about Ricky Nolasco - He throws a variety of pitches from a variety of angles, making it hard for batters to know what's coming next, even if he's just throwing fastballs. Nolasco's variety isn't truely unlimited, but it varies enough so hitters can't zone in on his intention, and that's enough to make him difficult to read. May is finding his own way of preventing hitters from grooving on his delivery, and it's working. What may be more important is that May is taking a pro-active attitude towards getting guys out. He's figuring out a plan to keep hitters off balance, and at the same time keep base runners from timing his delivery. If you find a really good balance point at the set, you can then do a lot of different things with your front knee - higher, lower, faster, slower - and still stay centered to hit your spots. It's a very economical way of keeping the opposition on the defensive. I don't think May should try too hard to emulate Nolasco, who falls off his pitching line in different directions, but has developed the ability to find an arm slot that still throws strikes. Better to emulate King Felix, whose front foot lands more in the same place. Variety is good...up to a point.

I was thinking about Santana's post-season ban a couple days ago. Suddenly I remembered that the Twins have a lot of pitching depth. Tommy Milone is stewing in Rochester, and there are at least a couple other guys that might fill in for Santana when he exits. How about this scenario: When Santana arrives, put him in the rotation, replacing either Pelfrey or May. The replaced starter bumps a reliever out of the bullpen, either Tonkin or Duensing. Having a starter in the pen gives the Twins a long reliever to take pressure off the starters, in case one of them has a short start. If the Twins actually make the playoffs, That's when Santana goes away. Meanwhile, the bullpen guy comes back into the rotation, replaced by...get this...Tommy Milone. Same deal as before, you stash a starter in the pen, so you have a long reliever or spot starter who's a legit starter. It's actually what the Twins are doing right now with Milone, stashing him in AAA in case a starter gets hurt or fails to perform. People call Milone a "fifth starter," but on the Twins, it really doesn't matter. You just need pitchers that keep the team in games, and Milone is one of those guys.

Better yet, steroids is skewing the whole scale.

Perk, Dozier and Plouffe, obviously. Gibson deserves consideration, but he won't get in because he needs to post a full season like he's having now. Pelfrey also deserves consideration but won't get in, for the same reason as Gibson. What's cool about this year's Twins is how many players are performing at star level, but not quite All Star level. Those capital letters take just a bit more to get. Can a team with no position All Stars still make it to the playoffs?

You could be right about Joe Mauer, but there is one team that still might want him: Boston. It's true that his value has gone down since he stopped catching, but Mauer still is able to hit a lot of balls to the opposite field. I sometimes wondered what his numbers would be like if Mauer had spent his career there. Imagine all those balls caught at the warning track in left field, both at the Dome and in Target. In Boston, all those outs would be hitting the Green Monster, bouncing off for doubles. In 2009, Joe Mauer hit .369 with 28 homers and 30 doubles. If he'd been playing for Boston, he might have cracked .400! Even now, people must wonder what Mauer could do if half his games were in Boston. He's still a good RBI guy, and he's a great athlete. He could play first, or a corner outfield spot. Joe Mauer could have a renaissance in Boston.

What a difference in Mike Pelfrey's life from just a couple months ago. Everybody except him thought he was bound for bullpen duty for the rest of his career. He'd spent a couple years working his way back from Tommy John surgery, trying to get his body as strong as possible and his elbow to work right again. Even his "last chance" as a starter came because the Twins were forced into it by Ervin Santana's suspension and Nolasco's stint on the DL. Now, his command looks great, and his stuff is filthy. Combined with an improved Twins defense, Pelfrey is winning games again. His heater is averaging around 93mph with good movement, and his splitter is embarrassing good hitters. Are we seeing the best of Mike Pelfrey? A couple aspects of this question intrigue me. First, his command. Obviously, every pitcher knows that you're supposed to avoid the middle of the strike zone, but it seems that only a few really master the art of keeping the ball around the edges. Pelfrey's command during this stretch has been almost impeccable. Why? Is it that years of mechanics drills have finally borne fruit, or is it just that his elbow is finally healthy after years of getting worse? Or is it some combination of the two, or some other factor? Second, his stuff. In that first clip, you can see that Pedro Alvarez recognizes the initial trajectory of the pitch as it comes out of Pelfrey's hand, which indicates it will be right down the middle of the zone. Only after it's halfway to the plate does the splitter's action take it down and left (out of the zone), inducing an embarrassing whiff. I think the word "filthy" comes not just from the degree of movement, but from the deception. It starts out looking like a sweet, down-the middle BP fastball, then disappears under your bat. Notice also that the ball doesn't duck down until it's over half-way to the plate. By that time, Alvarez has decided to swing at the spot where he expects the ball to be...but then it ain't there. Like a magic trick, his eye has been fooled. Did Pelfrey's stuff always have this late movement? I mean, earlier in his career, before his elbow problems. If so, you'd expect him to have an ERA that would put him out of Minnesota's price range. I think he's improved. I have a feeling we're looking at a guy who's had a lot of time to think about and refine his game. What he's doing today doesn't look like an accident, but rather the result of lots of work, and thought, about the most effective way to get guys out. I'm seeing a savvy pitcher with great command, and plenty of gas left in the tank. Mike Pelfrey looks like a damn fine pitcher.

Trevor Plouffe today is one of the better 3rd basemen in the league, and he got that way with a ton of hard work. Miguel Sano is uber talented as a hitter, but he's not nearly ready to replace Plouffe's glove at third. When the time comes for the kids to take over (2016-17), I'd opt for a youth movement. Trade Plouffe and Mauer, bring up Sano, Polanco, Vargas, Buxton, etc. An infield of Sano, Polanco, Dozier and Vargas would be pretty potent, and an outfield of Rosario, Buxton and Hicks would also compete for several division titles.

One move I'd make right now is Jorge Polanco up and Danny Santana down to AAA. Santana has that overwhelmed look that Hicks had before he got sent down. Less pressure and more coaching might get him back up fairly soon. Meanwhile, I wants to see me more of that fun Polanco baseball that I saw last fall. He already plays with that aggressive, pressure style that the Twins have been putting on display so far this season.

I could be wrong, but I think we're seeing the results of that gradual evolution of a ballplayer that's called "figuring things out." It happened for Trevor Plouffe and Brian Dozier. It's beginning to happen for Aaron Hicks. It can take years and many thousands of repetitions of the same old baseball drills, but all that hard work does tend to have an effect. Dozier was a singles hitter and a mediocre second baseman. Now he's an excellent defender, and one of the most dangerous 2B hitters in the league. Plouffe was a streaky hitter and a semi-butcher at 3B. Now he's getting near the top in both categories. Hicks seems to have suddenly become an excellent CF, and his hitting is...well, still a work in progress. Hitting has never seemed natural for Hicks, but with thousands more reps... Kyle Gibson is experiencing a similar gradual improvement. He already had good control when he came up, but now it's better. He did already have a full complement of pitches, but his command was inconsistent. Now, he's more precise. His poise on the mound was already advanced for a young pitcher. Now, he's practically unflappable. Yes, it's unfair to compare Kyle Gibson to Cy Young candidates at this stage. His stuff isn't completely overwhelming. But he's at a point right now where he's getting consistently good results most of the time, and he no longer falls apart after one bad inning. He's trusting his stuff, sticking to his plan, and fielding his position like a pro. With good fielding, Gibson can look like an ace often enough to fool at least this Twins fan.

If you saw Kyle Gibson's performance today (Sunday) against the White Sox, you saw an ace pitcher on the mound. I remember when the Twins drafted him, there were pundits saying he was a top-4 draft prospect, if not for his injured forearm. It's easy to see today what those pundits were talking about. Gibson's delivery is one key element. He stands so tall, and his release point is high, so his pitches all have a pronounced downhill trajectory. However, since he was drafted Gibson has definitely refined his game. His balance as he raises his knee is much better, resulting in even less lateral motion of his neck as his weight shifts towards the plate. Because of this, his control is approaching pinpoint accuracy. In one at-bat I saw him throw a sinker, then a fastball to the low, outside corner. Then he threw a two-seamer which started towards the exact same spot, then slid six inches to the right. How the batter held up on that pitch, I have no idea. Even more, Gibson has now started throwing more change-ups, and with his added precision, hitters look helpless. With his consistent release point, Gibson's change is very hard to distinguish from his heater, and batters are screwing themselves into the ground trying to hit it. Last, Gibson today has a very calm, determined look that reminds me of Trevor Plouffe. He knows he belongs, he knows he can do this. What he's got today isn't mid-rotation stuff. Kyle Gibson looks like an ace.

Seth, great article. BoomBoom, you too!

Think about it, what's Meyers' biggest problem? Control. Mostly the guy pitches from a wind up, so as a relief pitcher, they're going to make him pitch from the stretch. That will force him to find his balance point at the set, which hopefully will produce better command. Some starting pitchers have too many moving parts from the wind up, so they move to pitching from the set. Other starters learn to minimize their movement from the wind up, and it improves their command. Simplifying Meyers' delivery may be his shortest route to the majors. Even from the set, he'll have a mid to upper 90's heater. A taller Tonkin, plus a couple mph and better off speed stuff. He might even wind up being a flame throwing closer.

I could see the Twins bringing up Polanco and sending Santana down for awhile if he doesn't play better. Santana needs more consistency all around. Polanco has earned another cuppa joe.

Boyer has had some balls hit hard on him, but right at people. He's got good command at the moment, but I don't see anything really amazing about his stuff. With few strikeouts, Boyer's success will depend on more bad contact, not line drives right to an outfielder. Does anybody know how his game is different this year? Mechanics? More change ups?

Agree with Wyatt. Buxton may be the fastest runner of the day, but the best hitter sounds like it was Kepler or Sano.

You're right, that was unprofessional of Nolasco. You don't show up your teammates by sulking in public. Still, it was overall another encouraging outing. The good news is that Ricky Nolasco is now about what the Twins expected when they signed him. He's a good #2 or 3 starter that peppers the outer zone with a variety of pitches from different angles, then makes hitters flail at his big curve ball. Swinging at that bender usually produces a grounder, a pop-up, or a whiff, and if you lay off it, it's a strike.

The concourse outside TCF Field's right field stands (Gate 34) is the only place similar to PNC Park's river walk. So it is possible to hit one "out of the park" at TCF, and it has happened a few times, including one by Jim Thome, and another by Thome that would have landed on the plaza if it hadn't hit the American flag pole. Meanwhile, Ricky Nolasco finally looks healthy again. If not for some sloppy fielding, he might have made it to the seventh inning with just a few runs given up.

I'd hate to do it because I like the guy, but right now I'd DFA Duensing, replace him with Theilbar. Send down Pressly, tell him to work on his change up. Pelfrey to the pen, Milone to the rotation. Duensing may not be "done," as one guy put it, but it looks like he's lost his command. Maybe he can get it back at some point, but right now he's getting killed out there.

Trevor Plouffe today is playing the game of baseball at the highest level he can. He now has a solid foundation of physical fundamentals, and to that he has added a new layer of tactical and strategic awareness that is allowing him to process the game's many details and give himself the best odds to succeed. If you watch his demeanor at the plate, you can see it - like watching a mouse transform into a cat. Totally calm now, he looks for ways to put pressure on his opponent, no longer worrying about how a single at bat, or a play, or a game will affect his status as a player. Right now Trevor Plouffe is the most dangerous player on this team. I would find a way to keep him here.

My point is that if you want a pitcher to be able to throw 100 effective pitches, he's got to have enough stamina to throw a couple dozen more than that. There are various ways to train for that load, but Nolan Ryan's old exercise bike is still one of the standards. I'm not even saying that May isn't in great shape. Of course he is. He's in his mid-twenties, a pro athlete, he runs, lifts weights, etc. However, I've seen the difference that post-performance workouts can make. It extends your fitness just a little farther, so when you "dig a little deeper" there's a bit more energy left. The Trevor May I saw at pitch 85 was still strong. Ten pitches later, he was exhausted, minus a couple mph and with no movement on his heater.

Pretty obvious what kept Trevor May from finishing the seventh inning today. He was completely gassed before his 95th pitch. Huffing and puffing, he still managed to heave a 91mph BP heater to Tim Beckham, who eagerly deposited it into the left field seats. Up to his last batter in the 6th, May had looked pretty good. His heater was moving, and averaging about 93mph. But the seventh inning was like he ran into a ten mph head wind. Remember what Nolan Ryan used to do, AFTER finishing a nine-inning game? He'd walk out to the bullpen and pedal a workout bike. Hard. For twenty minutes. Nothing complicated about this. If you want pitchers to go deeper into games, they have to have more energy. As Nolan Ryan demonstrated, that means pushing your body to keep going, right after you come out of a game. What did Trevor May do? He went to the bench and sat down, hanging his head. If he wants to get better, he should be sitting on a bike, pedaling like an ambitious young hockey player.

Buxton for hitter of the day. I like it when a guy is constantly putting pressure on the other team. Buxton is doing that, including his steal, which makes opposing pitchers lose their cool. And imagine the kind of elite speed it takes to get SEVEN triples in just 36 games, and he spent the first twenty-something games shaking off rust!