jimbo92107

Sounds like proximal dislocitis. Or maybe dextal faringea. Carpal funnel?

Dibs on "Royce Rolls" puns! Sounds like a kid that knows how to enjoy himself.

In fact, we see Erv Santana's fastball averaging about 92-93 these days. Problem is, we also know Santana can dial it up to 96, and so do hitters. That's one factor that makes his pinpoint 93 heat more effective, and the fact that he can drop his off-speed stuff on a gum wrapper. If McKay's 91-92 heat (fading after 60 pitches) has pinpoint accuracy, and his off-speed stuff is similarly accurate, then we have a possible Maddux on our hands, and a big yay for that. If not, then we have a middle rotation guy, which is not what you want from the draft's very first pick. With that, you should get somebody better than Jose Berrios, somebody that will be right near the top of BA's top mlb prospect list.

Exactly. McKay has a chance to be a mediocre middle rotation guy for a decade. Yay! Or, he could be an average 1B with a good bat. Yay! Great pick...for a National League team.

Wright, Gore, Greene, McKay. Twins need a good starting pitcher asap to help the Sano generation win a title. Wright gets there quickest, is most likely to contribute significantly. Gore could be the best pitcher, but he's just coming out of HS. A lefty with drop and drive like Hammels or Kershaw could be a win-churning ace for years... a few years from now. Greene sounds like the physical phenom of the draft, but he's also a HS kid, so it's years away. To that you add the problem of the inverted W. If minor league coaches don't iron out that flaw immediately, he's TJ bound. McKay, like Wright, is fast to the majors, but I don't get the excitement of him as a pitcher. Low mph heat from a college guy? Unless he's got the world's most amazing off-speed stuff, I pass on that. Otherwise, he's a gifted hitting 1B, which is wonderful...somewhere in Round Two. If the Twins really do take McKay, it will remind me of the Vikings using their first pick on Laquon Treadwell, a talented WR with unimpressive speed. I will wonder why, and hope the scouts are seeing virtues I don't understand.

Are Belisle and Breslow better than Hildenberger, Melotakis and Curtiss? Seems like a good time to find out how good a couple of these guys are.

^^This. If Houston's best pitcher goes down, and then they offer the Twins about half their best prospects because they think they have a shot at a ring, then you trade Santana. Otherwise, E-Zen is the team's perfect example how to pitch, for a staff that really needs a perfect example. Just for the sake of Jose Berrios I would like to keep Santana around for at least this season. Seeing the way the master demonstrates ultimate cool on the mound is the best possible thing for student Berrios to see. It may be why Berrios isn't losing his own cool after something goes wrong. It may be why Berrios has slowed his fastball to a controllable 93 mph, rather than humping it up to 96 and faster. Seeing Santana so relaxed on the mound may also be helping Duffey and Rogers, maybe even others on the staff. Santana is showing them how to win with cruise control. Best example may be the final pitch of Santana's latest shutout. After showing that he still had 94, he finished off the last batter with... a high change-up that just barely dropped into the top of the strike zone. The cajones, gentlemen. Every pitcher on the field saw that, and realized what cool it takes to throw a pitch like that to get a standing K on the last out. Pitch 91, a high change-up for strike three. Berrios saw that, and it became part of his developing psyche as a pitcher. Berrios is now starting to realize that the change-up is a real weapon.

Fantastic write-up! I can tell you one big reason not to trade Ervin Santana - his effect on Jose Berrios. The super-talented youngster is watching Santana's every move on the mound, and it's gradually soaking in. You can see Berrios rapidly developing an organized, self-controlled presence on the bump. It's still a long way from the Zen-like calm of his mentor, but Berrios is quickly becoming a remarkably mature-looking pitcher. Oh, and his change up should be considered his third plus pitch at this point. Berrios can throw any of his three pitches for strike three. He should start throwing a lot more change ups with two strikes. Meanwhile, I'm sort of hoping other teams don't notice how hard Kennys Vargas hit that home run on Saturday. 116 miles for each hour it traveled. I wonder if my motorcycle can go that fast... ;-)

Zentana definitely had the same calm demeanor as he did in his shutout of Baltimore. He even seemed to bring his zen to the plate with the bases loaded. I was wondering about that as he stepped up with the bags loaded. Would the same kind of calm... Bingo!

"Palacios was 5-for-6 with two homers and two doubles. I suppose he “fell” a triple short of the cycle, but I’m sure he’s happy having to settled for 13 total bases on the night." That's not a cycle, that's called a REASON TO GET PROMOTED!

Wow, immense control of that change up and slider. Was that 90 pitches, or 91? Ervin Zentana! E-Zen!!

Still got 93 mph...

Ervin Zentana! What's the lowest number of pitches for a complete game shutout?

...Unfortunately, his only pitch bends down and away, and Buxton still doesn't know how to step into a pitch. Oh Chili Davis, please tell Buxton to close his stance and drive towards the pitcher!

Buxton might be able to hit this guy. He has only one pitch.

Dang, 7 innings on 71 pitches. Erv gots his Zen thing going on again.

Petco rivals Target Field. A very pretty park in San Diego.

Nice low pitch count, out of the 6th inning...

I was at Santana's game in LA. Blech! I think Glunn said he doesn't pitch very well against the Angels.

Is Erv Santana going to lead this game in RBI's?

It would be funny if Santana wrote a book on hitting: "Relax, Don't Do It"

Called it!! ^^best gag of the day?^^

Wow, look at the easy power Gore gets from that leg kick and the gliding drive towards the plate. This kid could be really good, like Cole Hammels good. I'd still pick Wright because he's closer to mlb level, but if Gore avoids injury, he'll be a very good major league pitcher.

There's fast track, and there's rocket sled. Kyle Wright might actually survive right now in the major leagues. Problem is, even if he's got the stuff, he hasn't built up his body to withstand pitching for a whole mlb season, or even half of one. But what the Twins could do is add Wright to the pen (as was discussed for Jay), and see if he can blow some balls by people in a limited role. The counter argument is pretty simple. What's the rush? The Twins aren't going to the World Series this season, so there's no imperative to mess with a high-end prospect's arm and head. To me Wright looks much better than either Wimmers or Jay did coming out of the draft. His form looks excellent and his command reportedly is good, tho he may need to build up more stamina. Trying him out in low-leverage relief situations (like Belisle and Breslow) is unlikely to hurt his arm or impede his progress next season. If he looks too shaky, send him to AA or A. If he looks great, then keep using him. "Yo Kyle, come on up for an early cup of coffee. Day at the fair, see if you can win a stuffed animal. Make some mistakes, get nervous, plunk the mascot, whatever. Either way you're probably starting next season in the minors." Put it to him like that. If he does well, he starts next season in AA. If he falls to pieces, maybe he starts next season in Fort Meyers.

I've seen a photo of Wright with his elbows drawn up and back, but his throwing forearm wasn't pointed down in the exaggerated inverted W that causes real concern. His forearm was pointed sideways, so he wasn't headed for the damaging torque phase that makes the W so notorious. Also, if you look at Wright's form just before release, you see a very nice squared-up shoulder and elbow, where his throwing elbow isn't lagging far behind a line drawn across his chest. This means Wright is generating the final impulse out front, using the power from his legs and torso more than just his upper body. As long as he keeps that final flip out front at the end of the kinetic chain, he should be okay.