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jimbo92107

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Everything posted by jimbo92107

  1. jimbo92107
    That's what I saw,too. His footwork will improve in a year. Star SS.
  2. jimbo92107
    Romero throws flames in spring, takes the 5 spot, but wears out before mid-season, opens door for Gonzo or Stewart. Or Thorpedo.
  3. jimbo92107
    It's a tribute to Joe Mauer that other teams, umpires, and darn near every fan in the stadium felt a tear welling up for one of the best players and best men in sports. Hugs for everybody. A hug for you, Joe Mauer. Family.
  4. jimbo92107
    Good to see Berrios back near top form. This bodes well for the 2019 pitching staff. Astudillo may be in the best shape of his life, but he should try, just once in his life, to train like an olympic athlete, like an America Ninja, like a rock-climbing gymnast. There is only one time in your life that you get to be in your 20's. You're at your physical peak, and you can push your physical limits to crazy heights. Who here wouldn't like to see Willans Astudillo come to spring training looking like he's ready to go ten rounds boxing? Imagine Astudillo with bigger thighs, and six pack abs like Bruce Lee. Go for it, Willans. I bet the Twins would hire you a physical trainer. Hell, Molitor might pay for it himself, just to see what happens. Treadmills, weights, and low-cal, hi-protein shakes, baby. Can La Tortuga become El Tigre?
  5. jimbo92107
    Willans Astudillo deserves a roster spot just for his bat. His whiff rate is something like 1 in 20, which is unbelievable. How the heck do you make contact with 19 of 20 major league pitches you swing at? Not only that, but he puts balls in play with a some pop. Defensively, he's not showy, but he appears to be effective. He makes the right plays at 3rd, and as a catcher his glove is okay and he gets rid of the ball quickly. Astudillo isn't a fan favorite just because of his cute, chubby cheeks. The guy is a very sound baseball player, and his hitting is outstanding.
  6. jimbo92107
    Hildenberger is a very good set-up man or middle reliever. He's not a closer. His stuff doesn't miss bats enough. He doesn't throw enough strikes, either. A closer has to attack attack attack with relentless, whiffable strikes. Hildy isn't quite that dominant. Actually, of the guys on the current staff, Taylor Rogers has the best "closer" stuff.
  7. jimbo92107
    Fernando Romero, Stephen Gonsalves, Kohl Stewart, Zack Littell, Lewis Thorpe, Adalberto Mejia. Those are the main internal candidates for the fifth spot in the starting rotation. We all saw Romero flash stuff that could dominate. We have seen Mejia look like a good mid rotation starter. Meanwhile, Gonsalves and Stewart appear to be shaking off their rookie nerves, and both look like viable future starters. I haven't seen Thorpe pitch, and Littell didn't impress me, but I guess the team likes him. I don't see a problem here. Four guys look ready to fill spots 1 through 4, and at least six guys are lined up to fill the fifth spot. This seems like enough pitching depth to eschew expensive free-agent deals, at least before the mid-season deadline in 2019.
  8. jimbo92107
    Team needs guys like Willans Astudillo. He's our Everyman baseball hero.
  9. jimbo92107
    It's nice to think that one of the next great hitters in the major leagues is now playing for a Twins affiliate in Ft Meyers. No reason to think they can't jump him directly to AA next spring, and if he's still crushing it above .320 for half a season, bring him up after the All Star break.
  10. jimbo92107
    Obviously the Twins have not yet executed the Opener strategy effectively, but in this case we did get an unexpected benefit: We saw Kohl Stewart pitching with less pressure put upon himself. What I saw was extremely encouraging. Stewart definitely has the "stuff" to not just survive, but thrive in this league. Astros were swinging aggressively, but Stewart and Giminez countered with an effective mix of pitches, and most important, Stewart showed that his stuff can get guys out. That said, he still sails far too many pitches right down the middle, and he still does not command the outside edge with consistency. Fortunately, those are things that young pitchers typically refine over the first few years of their careers. With Stewart's live heater, good sinker, developing change and developing curve, he could wind up being a very, very good mlb pitcher.
  11. jimbo92107
    Forsythe was counter-rotating the bat in what I think of as the "Cuban style." Yasiel Puig of the Dodgers is a typical example. That extreme waggle of the bat gives you great wrist snap, but as you might expect, it's hard on the wrists.
  12. jimbo92107
    Stephen Gonsalves might turn out just fine, but his first two debut innings looked like he was pitching batting practice. Almost no downward plane at all to his pitches, which were sailing nice and flat through the zone. Very little movement, either. I was amazed that Chicago didn't knock him out in the first inning. Dick and Bert were yakking about his cool demeanor, but I was seeing a condemned man facing a firing squad of line drives. Best thing about this is that Gonsalves wakes up this morning and says, "Hey, I'm still alive, even after that horror show." The only other bright note is that Kohl Stewart can say to himself, "Dang, even my first time wasn't that bad." Now they can both relax and piece together some kind of major league career.
  13. jimbo92107
    "Michael Pineda started, as he continues to come back from Tommy John surgery, going 3.0 innings. He gave up two hits, a run and struck out one. Pineda left with the game tied and earned no decision." I am using my best pink crayon to write Michael Pineda into next year's starting rotation. Depending, he could either start, or finish games for this team.
  14. jimbo92107
    Unless the Twins plan to bring up Gordon for a cuppa, I'd keep Logan Forsythe for the remainder. He's a skilled batsman, but looks like strictly an arm hitter that flips his wrists for singles, not getting his hips involved in the swing. As a fielder he appears to be better 2B than Dozier was. Quicker, stronger arm, good on the double play. If he can play other infield positions, cool, but there's no reason to switch him. No idea what the Twins FO will do, but I know what I would do: Trade him in the off season, then bring up Gordon, who will look a lot like Logan Forsythe, but younger and with more upside. Gordon won't hit for Forsythe's current average, but neither will Forsythe.
  15. jimbo92107
    I just watched Hildy close the last game. Guess what he did...he kept the ball in his glove a little longer! Not only did he hide the ball better, it kept his package tighter, so he was delivering with a little more snap. Better zap on the heat, better deception on the change. He could close just like that. Trevor May has the stuff to close, and I've suggested it before. If not May, I'd try Busenitz. He's got classic closer stuff - down plane heat, hard slider. If Booze can learn to spot corners, he be the man. Same with May.
  16. jimbo92107
    Or, Hildenberger could learn to change from one grip to another after he breaks his hands. Boy, would that make some hitters look foolish.
  17. jimbo92107
    I don't keep loose diamonds in my old blue jeans, but Michael Pineda... We'll see. 95 mph heat in his first rehab start. Nice. Does he have decent off-speed stuff to go with it? Command is the key.
  18. jimbo92107
    LoMo to have hip surgery? Did he play all season with a bum hip? That might explain the lack of explosion from his bat. Hard to swing a stick with a sore hip.
  19. jimbo92107
    I suspect that Kohl Stewart's cuppa coffee is a very important cup because Stewart has underperformed in his minor league career vs. his draft position. What does this kid have now? That's what the Twins want to know. Is he worth further development, or should they finally cut bait? Stewart's starts in the coming weeks will reveal what kind of mlb pitcher he's likely to be, unless he discovers some special slider grip from an old veteran. His farm stats suggest he's a ground ball guy. Can he produce ground balls in the show? If so, he's a mid- to back end starter, maybe an innings eater. A lot will depend on the viability of his off-speed stuff, because his heater isn't dominant. Can he throw his "fringy" change for strikes? Does his curve miss enough bats? Most importantly, does he figure out some way to get guys out? Stewart will be under a microscope just about every pitch. The Twins are bringing Stewart up before Gonsalves and Thorpe because the other two guys are less mysterious.
  20. jimbo92107
    Wow, an unexpected but pleasant surprise. This is one of the very important experiments the Twins need to do with the remainder of the season. Kohl Stewart has been kind of an enigma to me. Started near the top, now near the bottom of the team's prospect 30. The little bio says his heat tops at 95, he has a 2- and 4-seamer, but his off-speed stuff is "fringy." When he was drafted, that was what they said he needed to work on, his breaking stuff. Well, he's had five years in the minors to refine his craft. Might as well see what he's got at this point. If nothing else, it will give him a cuppa, which should be good for his morale. Let us wish him good fortune. BTW, love the photo. What exactly is Kohl preparing to throw? Air??
  21. jimbo92107
    A marginal prospect for the Twins, Willans Astudillo would be a superstar for the St. Paul Saints. He'd be their starting catcher and their best hitter. He'd probably hit about .350, with a bunch of home runs. Add all his clever plays, and you'd have a fan favorite for several years. Sometimes the major leagues gets in the way of a fun life.
  22. jimbo92107
    I wondered about the legality of the play since the pitcher did step on the mound without the ball just before the tag, which I thought would be a balk. However, Astudillo got the ball while play was still live, no timeouts called after the runner advanced to third. Luckily Chase De Jong had the wits to wander behind the mound for a bit as Astudillo strolled back to third. De Jong did not deliver the ball to Astudillo, so I guess as long as he didn't actually touch the pitching rubber there's no balk. Willans Astudillo should be playing for larger crowds than in Rochester. The guy is pure baseball entertainment. He's a Rosario type, even if he's not an impressive physical specimen. Utility infielder/outfielder, plus backup catcher. Pinch hitter that always gets bat on ball. That's getting on towards pretty handy.
  23. jimbo92107
    Twins already know Fernando Romero is a future starter, so he's okay in AAA for the remainder, where they can work on his command a bit more, then shut him down to save that arm. Gonsalves for sure, and Rooker for sure. Make room by DFA'ing LoMo and Belisle. Leave Gordon in AAA to work on pitch recognition and pump iron. Possible late September callup. Same schedule for Kohl Stewart, who may need a cuppa to keep his hopes up. Here's why the Twins shouldn't have traded for any players on the 40. Bringing up Wade means releasing one of those guys.
  24. jimbo92107
    If Royce Lewis joins the Twins after the All Star break in 2019, it will have to go like this: Tears it up the rest of the season in Ft. Myers. We're talking hits .350, with power. Starts 2019 in Ft. Myers, ripping baseballs to shreds, like .375 with power, plus great fielding. Promoted to Chattanooga after first month of A ball. Continues to rip (.350 or better) and play great D. Called up from AA straight to the show around the All Star break. This could happen if somebody gets injured, too. If Polanco or Adrianza go down, who ya got that's better? Conceivably Lewis could even jump over Nick Gordon, who needs to pack on some muscle and improve his pitch recognition. Looks like Royce Lewis is recognizing pitches just fine. See you in the Bigs, kid!
  25. jimbo92107
    Three strikeouts. He's throwing even harder than...Mitch Garver! Seriously, the signing of Michael Pineda could be huge for the Twins next season. If he's healthy, he dominates as a starter. High 90's, oh my...!
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