Jump to content
Twins Daily
  • Create Account

jimbo92107

Verified Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    5,666

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    1

 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 jimbo92107

  1. jimbo92107
    Well shoot, those are reasonable points. I hate that!
  2. jimbo92107
    In Centeno's case, maybe he figured something out. Or maybe he's sitting on multiples of the same pitch while a pitcher sharpens his stuff. Three hooks in a row? Please do! My point is that we're looking at a fairly young, good D catcher that's clearly seeing the ball well right now. Since we're talking about Suzuki's backup and it's early in the season, what do we care if the backup is him or Murphy?
  3. jimbo92107
    Given Centeno's spring numbers, why not go with the hot hand and keep Centeno on the roster as a bench bat/3rd catcher? Or maybe Murphy's the one that needs a little work in AAA. You can always swap them later, if Centeno's bat goes cold. Meanwhile, you've got a hot bat with good D in Centeno. What's not to like?
  4. jimbo92107
    Excellent report Seth. Your descriptions get me almost smelling the grass. Thanks, man.
  5. jimbo92107
    Agreed. The Twins still have a good portion of their future contending roster in AAA and AA. If you guess forward 3 years, that should be the beginning of the peak for this wave of players. By that time, Mauer will probably be replaced by either Sano or Vargas or Park. Plouffe will be gone. Dozier will be replaced by Polanco, and even Escobar might be replaced by Nick Gordon. I'm hoping by that time we'll finally have Rosie, Buxton and Kepler in the outfield.
  6. jimbo92107
    They'll start Over, then go Under. Then next year they'll really have to start over, and the under will be about 70 wins.
  7. jimbo92107
    This also means the #5 spot is between Nolasco and Milone, with Milone the odds on favorite because he's a better pitcher. So Nolasco will wind up in the pen, where he will stew and mutter to himself.
  8. jimbo92107
    I look for signs of improvement in how players are handling aspects of their game. Park's homers actually are encouraging, even if he was getting multiple fastballs. At least now we know he can hit a ball going over 90mph. The cat and mouse of regular season is the next hurdle. Same with Byron Buxton, who has reportedly showed better plate discipline, as has Oswaldo Arcia, who also slimmed down and looks better in the outfield. Even within the assumed roster, there are interesting details to mull over. I'd love to hear more about Miguel Sano's progress in RF. Is he getting it? Does he look as athletic as we hoped? Also, I don't discount promising performances by guys on the outside looking in. Even if a guy like Burdi doesn't make the final cut, if he's buzzing high-90's heaters past hitters, that's a good sign for his near future. Same with Berrios and others. If they're pitching really well in spring, that bodes well for this team, whose pitching staff is rather underwhelming. Meanwhile, as Mike indicated, the lack of drama this spring is a sign that this team is at least pretty solid. I don't mind that.
  9. jimbo92107
    Seems like Santana covers all the ground Nunez does, except third base, and Sano can step in there if needed. So you say bye to Nunez, use Santana as your super U, and you can platoon Arcia and Park in RF and DH. You could even rotate Park in as a first baseman to spell Mauer, especially if you want to bring all the big knockers in at once. This all depends on if Santana shows he can hit a lick in ST. If not, I say ship him to Rochester and bring up Jorge Polanco. He can hit.
  10. jimbo92107
    Yeah, but I assume Buxton can get over his hitting problems, and that appears to be happening with better plate discipline. Stealing bases is a completely separate art from the others. My concern is that Buxton may not have an aptitude for that aspect of the game. There are a lot more fast guys in MLB than there are good stealers. What most guys don't seem to realize is that the threat of a stolen base can be more disruptive to a pitcher than actually giving up the bag. Buxton already draws a lot of throws, even with his short lead. But if he actually steals some bases, he will drive pitchers crazy. Somehow he has to find that extra half step of a lead, drop his right foot back towards the outfield, etc. If he starts getting decent jumps, he could reach safely at a monster clip.
  11. jimbo92107
    Actually, the biggest problem I saw with Buxton last year was his base stealing. The guy seemed to rely entirely on his speed, rather than getting good leads and reading the pitcher's move. Even with his great acceleration, Buxton can't out-run a good professional catcher's throw if he has a six-foot lead and no read on the pitcher's moves. I'm hoping Molitor can get Buxton looking a bit more clever than that. I've seen 12 year olds that had better timing stealing bases than Buxton. Of course, they needed better technique because they didn't have his blazing speed.
  12. jimbo92107
    Glenn Perkins might not be the best comparison here, but there is one similarity. Perkins made a mid-career shift to the bullpen, even though he really didn't want to do it. He went from a starter that rarely broke 90mph to a closer that blew heaters by guys at 96mph, with a hot slider and a good slow curve. Ricky Nolasco isn't a control pitcher the way Perkins was, so maybe he can't pick corners as a reliever. However, he may be past the starter phase of his career, so a shift to the bullpen could be in his own best interest. I have yet to see him look good as a starter for the Twins.
  13. jimbo92107
    I have a good feeling about Arcia. I think he's decided to really take that professional athlete thing seriously. He spent all winter pounding his body into shape. He's lighter, stronger, faster... Cue theme from 6 Million Dollar Man... If Arcia really does show better plate discipline, maybe this is the year he becomes a real live pro baseball player. A legit lefty power bat that plays respectable left field... The Twins could use that.
  14. jimbo92107
    If Sano can play conservative right field, then use his powerful arm to gun a few guys out trying for second, the Twins will be very happy. I'm not so worried about his health out there. Football players his size have good careers, and nobody is smashing into Sano's legs.
  15. jimbo92107
    Buxton: He's already reached his floor. Fast as hell, yet just a so-so base stealer despite his speed. Hasn't learned to lay off the sucker curve off the outside corner, the same pitch that sent young Torii Hunter back to AAA. Yet when he connects with a baseball, it's usually a hard line drive. Defensively, seems like no fly ball is a sure hit, but he needs to stop running into walls and people. Haven't really seen him show off the arm yet. Can he learn how to steal bases? Can he learn to lay off the sucker curve? I'd bet on it. Kepler: Der Kid just keeps getting better at this odd American game. He has already passed his floor as a fourth outfielder. He's starter quality now, if he just gets a chance. No reason to think he won't continue to improve, he appears very coachable. I just wish he'd get rid of that thick Ohio accent. ;-) Gordon: Haven't seen him play, so I have no idea.
  16. jimbo92107
    Polanco makes the team as a utility infielder, then takes over if/when SS or 2B moves on or gets hurt. Right now I'd rather have Polanco's bat in the lineup than Santana's. He's also a better base runner than Santana.
  17. jimbo92107
    Now imagine trying not just to regain your high average, but to start picking pitches to pull and drive over the fence in right field. I remember discussions about the difficulty of Mauer announcing his intention to start pulling the ball more to increase his power numbers, and the inevitable reaction of MLB pitchers, which was of course to start working him low outside and low/high inside, but almost never anything he could pull. When you combine Mauer's concussion symptoms with an attempted mechanical modification, it's not too hard to see how Mauer's batting average would bottom out. So far we have every indication that Mauer is going to play this season, so then the question is, will Mauer continue trying to change into a pull power hitter, or will he go back to his career bread and butter approach of being an opposite field wizard? The latter approach seems more likely, at least early on. It won't take long to see if Mauer is still whiffing on pitches he used to flick into left field.
  18. jimbo92107
    Perkins has worn out in the second half of the last two seasons. At his age and with all the energy he puts into his pitches, I wouldn't bet on him having a healthy and productive year as the primary closer. On the other hand, if the Twins manage to split the closer duties between Perk and Jepsen, they might make it through the season with two closers.
  19. jimbo92107
    I agree that the Twins this year appear to have better options at pitcher no matter how they distribute them. I'm a bit more optimistic than you appear to be about Duffey, who I think could be a star. I'm actually less optimistic about Meyer, who is starting to look to me like a complete bust. He fell apart last season as soon as he had a base runner, and that doesn't bode well for a tall guy with control issues. Trevor May on the other hand is I think going to be an innings horse if they make him a starter. May is one of those guys that absorbs lessons and techniques from other guys he watches, and that's a great trait in a young pitcher. His poise on the mound has improved greatly, and that includes his delivery from the set, which is MUCH better than when I first saw him. Obviously Berrios has to prove himself at the major league level, but I have little doubt he can be effective. His status depends on how the veterans look in spring training. If Hughes and/or Nolasco looks bad or lacks velocity, a spot opens up for Berrios.
  20. jimbo92107
    I like Michael Tonkin, and I think he can be a solid middle reliever for some team, but I don't see how he will survive with so many other high quality arms around and behind him. Pressly, Graham, May, and then a guy like Burdi coming up with blowtorch heat and a wipe out slider... Unless Tonkin develops impeccable control, I don't see where he fits for long. For Arcia, this is make or break spring training. He's got to put it all together right now, or the Twins will cut bait and go with other guys. My excuse for him last year was that his early hip injury kept bothering him all season. No more excuses. No more room. Danny Santana should make this team as a super-U guy, unless Joe Benson starts hitting like a first round draft pick, which is unlikely at this point. Speaking of which, wasn't Santana supposed to learn how to hit by now? I hate to tell Molly, but teaching a guy your hitting style doesn't make him as talented as you.
  21. jimbo92107
    Watch out for Mister In-Between. Hughes, Nolasco and Milone could provide a back end of the rotation that never sees 94mph on a fastball. The underwhelming power of these guys could brighten the day of hitters looking to break out of slumps. Meanwhile the Twins relegate their second best horse (May) to the pen and their best ace prospect Berrios to AAA to beat up on some more hapless minor leaguers, which is like sending a NASCAR contender to driver's ed. And the guy with the best curve ball on the team to the bullpen. Is any of that supposed to help the team win?? What's especially galling is that when you invert that plan and put Hughes, Nolasco and Milone in the pen, you might actually get the first two to add a few precious mph to their heaters, while keeping them in reserve for spot starts. A starting ro of Santana, Gibson, May, Duffey, Berrios provides lots of chances to go 6 or more innings, plus hotter, more dependable middle relief (and Meyer's big heater) for later in games. All the advantages seem to come by putting your vets in the pen, where their heaters can see a minor resurgence, and you save their arms for later in the season, like a spot start from a daisy fresh Phil Hughes in a playoff game. Meanwhile, if one of the young guns falters, you've still got your veterans to fall back on.
  22. jimbo92107
    The sooner we get to Rosaro, Buxton, and Kepler, the better. Meanwhile, I have no objections to Buxton and Kepler starting in AAA, where they can get some finishing school on their hitting. While that's going on, I'd have Santana in CF, and platoon Arcia and everybody else around the outfield. If Arcia starts to hit, great. If not, out he goes around mid season. Not even sure what to do with Park. If he hits in spring training, is that real? If he's catching up to heaters, I'd be tempted to find a spot on the MLB roster. Otherwise a little while in AAA couldn't hurt, while he crams with an English phrase book. Rochester's liable to have a real lumber company in the outfield. Yay!
  23. jimbo92107
    You do realize you just said that Tommy Milone will beat out Jose Berrios for the fifth spot in the Twins rotation out of spring training. In other words, in the opinion of the Twins coaches, they will conclude Tommy Milone will be a better pitcher this season than Jose Berrios. Just making sure you realize you weren't just thinking that, you actually typed it. 8-O
  24. jimbo92107
    A lefty cutter could be a great pitch, but there's certain guys (like Brian Dozier) that you wouldn't want to throw it to. Guys that can clear their hands quickly could hammer a pitch like that. Of course, you can show a pitch like that down, then toss a change over the outside corner. I especially liked how Gonsalves talks about getting that attitude of beating the hitter. If he can learn to reload and attack with every pitch, he can be one of those bulldog pitchers that we all love.
  25. jimbo92107
    It all depends on Oswaldo Arcia. If he comes to spring training healthy and with sharpened skills in right field, then he probably gets one last full shot, which probably keeps Kepler in AAA. When Arcia was healthy, his power swing was hard to ignore. If he is finally ready to act like a pro, he could be pretty good.
×
×
  • Create New...