jimmer

Not that it matters, but Fangraphs lists our CF position as 29th out of 30. Of course, they didn't see the Shane Robinson part coming and they envisioned Hicks as the guy starting out, but I'm not sure the ranking would change in the positive with the switch-up. Only the Braves with Upton/Young Jr project worse.

Even if one hasn't bought into all the hype, I still don't think it's a bad thing to want to see the youngsters play. I think it's fair to questions whether or not Meyer is truly ace material, or even #2 or #3 material, if at 25, he still can't earn a spot on this rotation. Same thing for May (though May has been less touted). Bright side is, we can keep bragging about how good our farm system is and can be safe in the idea Mauer's contract will be off the books well before any of these studs in waiting are due a significant pay raise.

Apparently plenty of people care. Some feel that when enduring lost and supposedly rebuilding seasons (such as last year and this year), that with having such a highly touted farm system, now is the perfect time to give some younger (and in Meyer's and May's cases, not so young) players time to see what they have.

I like what Cleveland did with it's rotation options. So many options. No room for Salazar yet (though I might have gone with Salazar over McAllister) but Kluber, Carrasco, Bauer, McAllister and House is a fine rotation with Tomlin and Salazar waiting in the wings.

In fairness, I believe the Fangraphs 'predictions' you talk about are actually ZiPS PROJECTIONS posted there. Those are based on what players are expected to do, but they know players will do better or worse and they can't account for sequencing. I've chatted with a few of the writers there and none of the ones I talked to actually expect them to win 75 games.

That includes pitchers like Colon and some of those guys at 28.5 have been in the majors for many years, like King Felix. I think the age discussion has more to do with rookies. What's the average age of a pitcher that loses his rookie status? How about pitchers who are top prospects, like Meyer? Were these guys touted as better than average, especially Meyer? I just thought about this. Seems King Felix has been around a long time. He's just about to turn 29.

Neither is Meyer. Not in baseball terms anyway. They're both 2 decades younger than me :-)

You got to ask yourself WHY they are swinging more. Baseball has studied this and they are looking into adjusting (shortening) the strike zone because they believe it has affected offense. 'Since 2009, the average size of the called strike zone has jumped from 435 square inches to 475 square inches, according to Roegele’s research. The results: Pitchers are throwing more in the lower part of the zone, and hitters are swinging at an increased rate, knowing the tough-to-drive pitches will be called strikes.' 'This was always the most simple and logical solution to increasing offense, so it’s encouraging to hear that MLB is at least looking into it. And good on folks like Jon Roegele and Brian Mills for putting the numbers out there for everyone to see. See, analytics aren’t so bad.' http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/02/12/report-mlb-could-change-strike-zone-to-boost-offense/comment-page-1/ 'Roegele’s study estimated 31 percent of the offensive drought could be attributed to the strike zone while Mills estimated it’s between 24 percent and 41 percent. After seeing a strong correlation among the size of the strike zone, all-time-high strikeout rates and historically low walk rates, members of the committee now are fairly certain the relationship is causative, too, and seem primed to do something about it.' 'Most agreed that raising the strike zone almost certainly would spark offense. The potential issue: More offense equals longer games, and with pace of play one of new commissioner Rob Manfred’s priorities, balancing the two remains a difficult proposition.' http://sports.yahoo.com/news/sources--mlb-could-alter-strike-zone-as-response-to-declining-offense-232940947.html

Let's not forget who though signing Pelfrey in the first place was a good idea much less re-signing him for two years at an even larger salary (though not large in the grand scheme of things overall).

The point was, with the strike zone being called larger and larger, it gives the pitchers a larger area in which to do their work. It hurts the offense.

It's not just the leaving of the steroid era. The strike zone that the umpires call has grown steadily larger over the last 5 years. That helps the pitchers greatly.

I don't think too many people expected or are disappointed that 6 or 7 rookies didn't make the Twins out of ST. I think some, myself included, are disappointed that NONE of our touted guys did. As far as having the best rotations we've had in YEARS, the barometer isn't exactly high now is it? And many said the same thing last offseason.

Maybe after Ryan re-signed him for two years and more money after the kind of year he had with us his first year, he felt his spot was pretty secure. That was an interesting precedent set by Ryan.

Why does anyone still believe the Twins when they say there is a competition for a starting job?

So no Meyer, no May, no Sano, no Buxton, no Rosario, no Polanco. None of the kids making it. Not even one. No surprises. So far, this roster looks even less exciting than it did last year.

listening to the game today the announcers are in midseason form. defending the milone selection, talking about how walks allowed is the worst thing ever, talking about no pitch counts in Bert's pitching days, etc.

what a boring and uninspiring rotation yet again and our OF defense is going to be a joke yet again. are we really bringing our best 25 north?

Well, his ERA was over 10 in August and only over 6.00 in Sept so I guess that's a significant improvement but hardly a sign of the light coming on. Barely averaged 5 IP in the last month, even though he averaged more than a K per IP in that time. Having said that, I want May in the rotation too.

In fairness, Span and Revere were already gone before Hicks had his very nice ST.

So Pelfrey wasn't one of the three worst at far as pace goes? Haven't we heard about how slow he is in like every start since he's been here?

Our pitching staff doesn't strike people out. Lots of ball in play and lots of guys on base. It's no surprise his fielding counting stats are high due to opportunities.

someone should break out the freedom of information act on their arses :-)

Yeah, since he wasn't getting the pitch he likes to pull a HR (because the scouting report was out), he was working counts. Walks aren't just about the pitcher doing something wrong. Batters play a part in their walks as well.

It was in Schoenfield's Sweet Spot, but it was Christina Kahrl who wrote the article: http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/54202/picks-to-click-breakout-pitchers #9 This may not be as easy a case to make, but he is a prime example of what has become an organizational type for the Twins, a huge strike-thrower who pounds away low and outside and keeps his infield busy, sort of a bigger version of Scott Erickson with even better command. As ESPN Stats & Info’s Mark Simon tweeted earlier this month, Gibson kept some pretty extraordinary company last year, tying for second in the majors in starts with seven or more innings pitched and no runs allowed with six. If the Twins’ infield defense jells this year, he’ll stay on that list.

I think long term Buxton may have something to say about who mans CF in the long term:-)