jimbo92107

Time to send down Danny Santana for some AAA seasoning. 1. Polanco 2. Dozier 3. Hunter 4. Plouffe 5. Vargas 6. Mauer 7. Suzuki 8. Rosario 9. Hicks

The secret sauce that is making this team win is subtle, and has many different spices in just the right proportion. The luckiest part has already happened - we have a combination of young players on the rise, like Hicks, Rosario, May, and Gibson. We have younger veterans that are nearing their peak potential, like Plouffe and Dozier. We have several solid veterans that hold their own and stabilize the team. We have Torii Hunter, a unique personality that helps pull it all together and inspires everybody to bust their butts. Even struggling Danny Santana is doing everything he can to get better, and it's showing. Oh, and Joe Mauer is hitting about .380 with runners in scoring position. To that you add a coaching staff that is one of the best in the business. Gene Glynn, Paul Molitor, Neil Allen, Tom Brunansky and Eddie Guardado. Then, to top it off, you've got management that has enough sense to not meddle with a good thing. The only weakness I've seen in this team so far is, when they face a Cy Young candidate on a good day, they don't do very well. Otherwise, the Twins look like they can beat anybody.

That could be the best reason to bring him up, but I'd still like to see him go a couple outings in AAA without throwing a wild pitch or hitting a batter.

"He was relieved by Alex Meyer, who knows how to fill up a box score. He walked two, hit one, allowed one hit and struck out five in 2.1 innings. Despite his inefficiency (56 pitches, 34 strikes), he picked up the win. (At this point, seriously, just put him in the big-league pen… he’s not a starter anymore, at least not this year. And he would be an interesting option to have at Molly’s disposal.)" Put Coke-bottle glasses on him and have him run out to the tune of "Wild Thing." Seriously, I wouldn't promote any pitcher, but especially a high-90's pitcher to the big leagues if he still has a problem hitting batters...by accident. ;-)

First, I forgive them. If this Twins team starts to lose, I'm okay with that, so long as they keep playing with the same aggressive, opportunistic attitude that has made them fun to watch. A team that keeps applying pressure often finds a way to win. Second, as this article mentions, the Twins have help coming from the farm. Santana's not producing? How about Polanco? A starter gets hurt? Bring up Milone. A reliver? Tonkin, or Oliveros. Need a little more power? Bring up Vargas or Pinto, or Walker, or all three. Want to see no baseballs hit the outfield grass? Bring up Buxton. A lot of these guys seemed so far away a year ago. Now so many of them are right on the verge of making it to the show. And what a show it's starting to become. The Twins are on a serious upswing, and it's just gonna get better.

It's a nice swing, a little like Adrian Gonzalez, tho he appears to be a little too eager to start his sprint to first, which makes it look like his sweep isn't covering the outer half. That would mean he'd flail at a lefty fading curve or a rightie change up outside. He'd have to learn to hang in there long enough to punch outside pitches the opposite way. Nothing wrong with a power pull lefty, but the first thing he'll see is everything on the outside edge of the plate.

The more legit starters they have up, the more options Molitor will have for mixing the rotation or giving one or more starters a break. If you stash say, Milone and May in the pen, those guys have the raw stuff to step in anytime and get a few guys out, or pitch the rest of a game starting in the 3rd inning. My point is, play to your strengths. Right now the Twins have more legit starters than great relievers. In fact, I was just reading that the Twins relief corps is ranked pretty low in the AL. Another factor is late game. A typical reliever will go maybe two innings in a tight game late. May or Milone (or Pelfrey) could go five or six innings late game, saving the rest of the pen for the next day. That could make a big difference over the rest of the season. Even if the Twins decide not to go with a 6-man rotation, they should still put a couple starters in the bullpen.

I think Brananorama fugured it out. With runners on, Mauer steps up in RBI mode, but if nobody is on base, he's working on his power game, which is supposed to feature pulling the ball. I bet pitchers picked up on this difference a long time ago. They're pitching Mauer outside and low when there's no RISP, knowing he'll try to pull it anyway. Result: tons of ground balls to the exact same spot, the second baseman. Mauer's going to have to make an adjustment. He's got to make pitchers pay for all those low, outside pitches. Line drives to the right-center gap would do it. Drive some doubles, and then when they come back inside, pull it. BOOM.

Some players make the outfielders hurry to stop them from getting a double. With Buxton, they'll be hurrying to stop a triple. I can't wait to see him in the Show.

I read the story, but it still doesn't make sense how a guy with the build and delivery of another Cole Hammels got his game so screwed up by major league coaches. Oh, well. He's a good pitcher now. Let's just enjoy Aaron Thompson while we can.

Yeah, just don't get caught putting "water" on the ball, or you'll get booted from the game! ;-)

Not the way Nolasco has been pitching lately. He's finally shaken off the rust, and he's back to his game, which is peppering the zone from various angles with fastballs, then mixing in his big bender. Right now I'd say Phil Hughes is the most hittable starter. He's throwing the ball too flat (remember Matt Capps?), and his stuff's not moving enough. Any lineup with a lot of flat swingers - like the Twins - would chase Hughes in about three innings. Hughes needs to start finishing his follow-through before an infielder gets killed. As for a 6-man ro, why not? Whatever wins games. The Twins don't have guys that finish games, so maybe the best thing is to have a lot of starters that are more like long relievers. Or have a few legit starters in the pen...what's so bad about that? I could see May go to the pen (seniority) when Santana gets here, then either add Milone to the starters or put him in the pen, too. Maybe we're just being too hide-bound about the difference between starters and relievers. Can you get guys out? Wanna great, big major league paycheck? Don't be so picky about the role!

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.

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?

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.

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.

Seth, great article. BoomBoom, you too!

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.

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.