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dougd

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Everything posted by dougd

  1. dougd
    Arraez made the BPro Minor League Update today with a 3-4 and BB performance yesterday. They note he has 4 strikeouts in 100 AB in Venezuela. "He’s just an average runner, and there is absolutely no power whatsoever, but his swing is Spud Webb-short to the ball and he’s shown nothing short of elite contact ability in his brief career to date."
  2. dougd
    Am a little surprised that Garver was not picked for the AFL West all star team, although I take it that selection is not really based on actual AFL performance.
  3. dougd
    Twins players have performed very poorly the past week in the AFL.
  4. dougd
    Are you sure there was no injury to Buxton? He caught a fly ball for the last out of the 5th inning, and then was pinch-hit for.
  5. dougd
    AL West scout according to Chris Crawford today at BPro: The next Diaz: Tyler Jay, LHP Minnesota Twins. “I think he has a chance to start, but if you put this kid in relief? Good luck. The fastball and slider are both out-pitches right now, and left-handers have absolutely no chance against this dude. That’s not to say he can’t get right-handers out, those pitches and the change are good enough to do that, too. Heck, this might not be the next Edwin Diaz, this might be the next Andrew Miller. “
  6. dougd
    In a recent BPro minor league update Chris Crawford noted regarding Fernando Romero: "Had a pro scout with a division rival say that Romero was the guy he most “feared” would hurt his team in the long run of all their young pitchers. That’s high praise."
  7. dougd
    Someone must have known the Twins would be 27-54 back in early April, because the schedule I received back then showed that the games of July 4 and July 6 would not be televised. The Fox North presentation of the Twins games that are shown is among the league's worst, in addition.
  8. dougd
    I went back and looked at Meyer's 29 pitches in the third inning. The Houston announcers thought Milone would be coming in two batters earlier to face Rasmus. It did look like Altuve could have been called out on strikes, and Springer got a favorable call as well. I would have liked to see Meyer pitch another inning, but I don't think Molitor's removing him was a sign of disrespect. Getting him out of the game while it was still a positive performance and putting in the long reliever that TD had just shown was nearly unhittable the first time through the lineup was not outrageous, and it did get Houston to pinch-hit. But I am real unhappy with the lack of news from Rochester. Could Boras be claiming that he is injured and should have been put on the ML 15 DL instead of being sent to Rochester?
  9. dougd
    Luis Arreaz This is what BP writer Jeff Moore said about Arreaz last August 24 in a Monday Morning Ten Pack: (GCL Twins) In the low levels of the minors, there are a ton of slick-fielding, athletic middle infielders with little to no power. It's not that that's a bad profile, but in order to stand out, a player in this mold has to have something extra. Arraez is doing that thus far, as his something extra is bat control within the strike zone. This is aided by an incredibly short swing path that makes no attempt to drive the ball or hit for any power, but there are plenty of players with similar swings who still swing and miss plenty. Arraez, despite being just 18 and stateside for the first time, makes contact at incredibly consistent rates, and even though he doesn't drive the ball, he does connect solidly. His approach is primarily to hit up the middle and the other way, which limits his power even further. Arraez is limited to second base and needs to hit .300 to succeed, and average foot speed limits his overall profile further, but his contact skills and barrel control are also rare for an 18-year-old, which gives him a chance to max out that profile. – Jeff Moore
  10. dougd
    I find it hard to believe that Duffey is so confident about his role that he is just experimenting with a new pitch. He was hit hard again today, saved by a diving catch by Arcia, according to the Red Sox announcers.
  11. dougd
    Sano also faced the toughest collection of pitchers of anyone in the majors with over 250 at bats, according to a BP article several weeks ago.
  12. dougd
    Interesting discussion. The author of the BPro article who spawned these 15 pages, Jack Moore, has another article out today which is at least tangentially related: "The sports cable time bomb: how MLB's settlement only delays the inevitable." http://tinyurl.com/zmbzcr9 The article is in the guardian.com in case the tinyurl didn't work. The conclusion: "Major League Baseball is protecting its golden goose by settling and keeping the courts away from their precious blackouts. But the way people watch sports and pay for their entertainment in general is changing. By forcing fans to go through cable monopolies to access the game, baseball is losing much-needed opportunities to win over new, young fans. This may not be an immediate problem, but quite simply, Major League Baseball won’t be able to rely on people who don’t care about its product to pay its bills forever." This has next to nothing to do with whether the Twins should have outbid everyone for a good LH reliever for a 2-3 year contract, or whether more expensive but fewer free agents should have been signed. But if you the owner believe that baseball revenues are in bubble territory, and you have many youngsters that you would like to keep, that probably does influence the immediate budget.
  13. dougd
    Matthew Trueblood had an article three weeks ago with a similar theme: "Kyle Gibson's Encouraging Comp, and Kyle Gibson's Really Encouraging Comp" http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=28150 One point of emphasis is shown in this quote: "In The Bill James Handbook 2016, Baseball Info Solutions provides an analysis of pitchers’ ability to use the edges of the strike zone. They put each pitch thrown into one of three bins: clearly outside the zone, on the edge, or in the middle of the zone. Among pitchers who threw at least 2,500 pitches last season (the only ones in the Handbook’s chart), only three pitchers had at least 34 percent of their pitches binned as clearly outside the zone and less than 25 percent of them binned as being in the middle of the zone: Liriano, Gibson, and Keuchel."
  14. dougd
    This story in the NYT adds some background: Finding a Common Thread in the Al Jazeera Doping Report http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/06/sports/baseball/al-jazeera-peyton-manning-derek-jeter-charles-sly.html
  15. dougd
    There is an article in today's guardian.com that many here would find interesting entitled "Tom House: the baseball eccentric who teaches Tom Brady how to throw". "High above the baseball field at USC a pitching Buddha sits in an office surrounded by his computers and printouts, on the search always for a new wrinkle, a different way. Baseball fears Tom House’s influence." Clients include Tom Brady, Drew Brees, and Carson Palmer. "Down below, in the third-base bullpen, an eclectic group of athletes gathers in a winter morning chill. A rising pitching prospect from the Minnesota Twins stretches near a Yankees farmhand." "Baseball is strange about him. The big league teams tend to hold him at a distance." “Baseball is very reluctant to accept anything new from the field, let’s put it that way,” he says. “A lot of stuff (like statistical analysis) trickles down from the front office but not from the field. I will have to admit there could probably have been a better person than me delivering science to baseball.” Here is the article. Does anyone know who "the rising pitching prospect" is?
  16. dougd
    The Yankees No. 1 prospect (BP) is listed at 275 lbs and 6'7", and is described as a prototypical right fielder and an above average defender who moves well even if it doesn't show up in third to home speed. I think there is a least a decent chance that a year in the outfield won't hurt Sano or the twins.
  17. dougd
    "The Battered Bastards of Baseball" is my favorite baseball movie and is one answer to your question. Documentary on the Portland Mavericks, a team founded by Bing Russell when the Pacific Coast League left Portland in 1973. Players who had been rejected or never given a chance (including Jim Bouton) joined a team that managed to beat the bonus babies. Very entertaining, and something to do while waiting for the Twins to make another move.
  18. dougd
    See also this: http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2015/12/lazaro-armenteros-mlb-showcase-cuban-prospect.html
  19. dougd
    Instead of making a couple "starters" unhappy, why not make them all unhappy by having 8 starters, with 4 groups of 2 for the first couple months. The game starter would be told he would pitch twice through the lineup, and the second starter would pitch the rest of the game. A Jepsen or Perkins might come in to finish the 4th or 5th inning to give starter #2 a clean slate. While it is a crazy idea, it would be fun for the fans. Perhaps Milone plus Mays, Gibson + Duffy, Santana + Hughes, Nolasco + Berrios or Rogers. Until someone gets injured or implodes or gets traded.
  20. dougd
    I had thought, somewhat contemporaneously, that the Twins did miss an opportunity to pick up Wellington Castillo from the Mariners. Their GM at the time had a penchant for failed outfielders, and Arcia would have been a perfect fit.
  21. dougd
    The #2 ranked catcher was Francisco Cervelli, who the Yankees traded to Pittsburgh for a LH relief pitcher, Justin Wilson 13 months ago. He was to be a backup in Pittsburgh, as they still hoped to keep Russell Martin. The NY Post noted: "In Cervelli, the Pirates receive a catcher who many in the game think can be a starter if he can ever stay healthy. He is viewed as a strong defender with potential in his bat. He hit .301 last year in 49 games. However, he was just about to enter the second year of arbitration and the Yankees potentially did not want to pay $1.5 million or more for a backup, particularly because they love Murphy’s defensive game, too, and think his offense has room to grow."
  22. dougd
    BP calls it a challenge trade of two former top prospects (Kelly was as high as 30 on some lists before the injuries). Only 24, Bethancourt was ranked as a top-100 prospect as recently as preseason 2014. He's since failed to impress during two big-league stints due to an overaggressive approach and overrated glove. For his big-league career, Bethancourt has offered at nearly 60 percent of the pitches he's seen, and nearly half the pitches he's seen out of his zone. Basically, he's done his best J.P. Arencibia impersonation . . . sans the occasional feats of raw power. That's just not going to work, even for a catcher. Bethancourt isn't polished on the defensive side, either. His arm strength is elite, but he's not always consistent with his footwork. Additionally, he needs to continue honing his receiving skills. Because Bethancourt is without options, he'll have to make quick progress at the big-league level.
  23. dougd
    In the long term, Hicks may become most famous for breaking Jim Kaat's record of matching his age both right-handed and left-handed in golf.
  24. dougd
    The 2014 preseason Baseball Prospectus said: In his first season spent exclusively behind the plate, he provided correct answers to both questions on the catch-and-throw quiz: His framing skills saved an estimated 18 runs between Double- and Triple-A—fifth-most in the upper minors—and he erased over 37 percent of attempted basestealers.... Murphy’s offense suffered in a September cup of coffee, but his success over the first five months of the season raised his ceiling above “backup.” He'll be 28 when Brian McCann's contract expires, though. The 2015 version was not as upbeat. While "he acquitted himself nicely"..., "he's just kind of okay at everything. Given what's out there on the market at the catching position, being okay at everything makes for a quality backup catcher in this league".
  25. dougd
    In terms of allowing baserunners to advance an extra base by a SB + PB +WP, Twins catchers were better than the American League average. Well, only by 1, but still, I imagine that preventing the extra base by strong accurately throwing outfielders is more important. The difference between Twins catchers and league average for just stolen bases is about one extra base every nine games. If LuCroy had caught as many innings as Suzuki, he would have had 22 more stolen bases against him (but more caught stealing as well). Weiters has looked awkward to me the games I have seen. Given the beating that catchers take, I would be hesitant to upgrade by trading young talent. Spend money if you can.
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