Jump to content
Twins Daily
  • Create Account

jorgenswest

Old-Timey Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    8,284

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    9

 Content Type 

Profiles

Minnesota Twins News, Rumors & Analysis

Minnesota Twins Videos

2026 Minnesota Twins Top Prospect Rankings

2022 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks & Signing Bonuses

Minnesota Twins Trade & Free Agent Rumors

Minnesota Twins Fan Guides & Resources

2023 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks & Signing Bonuses

The Minnesota Twins Players Project

2024 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks & Signing Bonuses

2025 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks & Signing Bonuses

2026 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks & Signing Bonuses

Forums

Blogs

Events

Store

Downloads

Gallery

Everything posted by jorgenswest

  1. jorgenswest
    If the Twins believe that McCusker is ready there is definitely a place for him. Castro can play 2B and Clemens or Bride can be moved to clear a spot for him. Those two combined for 4 starts since the return of Lewis and Castro. Those starts could have been given to McCusker. I don’t know if McCusker’s strikeout and walk rates are going to work at the major league level. I am curious to find out though. You can be successful in the majors combining a low average with a high ISO. Most of those players also combine a high strike out rate with a high walk rate. McCusker doesn’t have that high walk rate. Can he match Seiya Suzuki or would he match Jhonkensy Noel?
  2. jorgenswest
    At the quarter pole the Minnesota Twins bullpen has 2.3 WAR which is first in the major leagues. That isn’t the same as saying they have had the best bullpen. I don’t think WAR is a great measure for a bullpen but is way better to be first in WAR than last. The Twins bullpen ranks 13th in innings pitched and in a tie for 4th through 8th in games pitched. The teams ahead of the them in games pitched include the first place Dodgers and the Cubs. The Guardians and Mariners also have pitched 140 games with a few more innings from their bullpen. The Dodgers use of the bullpen both last year and this year is very extreme. The Dodgers bullpen has thrown 28.2 innings more than the Twins excluding opener starts. Including those it would be 34.2 more innings for the Dodgers. Individually Louis Varland leads the majors in appearances with 22. Jax and Duran have 20 appearances. The Dodgers also have three pitchers with 20 or more games. The Dodgers top 6 have 116 appearances. The Twins top 6 have 110 appearances. This includes opener starts. The Twins don’t have anyone near the leaders for innings pitched individually. Duran and Varland at have 19.1. They appear to always have an 8th man in the bullpen that they don’t use at times for days. They eventually get used for length to save the rest of the arms and then are DFA’d or optioned. We have seen Dobnak, McCaughan, Blewett and Funderburk have been in that role. Alcala moved into that role when Stewart returned. Jax and Sands have both been in that 8th man spot in previous seasons and performed their way out of it.
  3. jorgenswest
    Loved the game. Brooks Lee came up big. Two hits for Lewis. Clemens with a scorching double. Larnach and Bader with multiple hits. Four innings and one earned run by the bullpen and that run came on a double play grounder that deflected off Jax. Keirsey with the big hit. So much to discuss about the players that actually played in the game.
  4. jorgenswest
    It isn’t a report. It isn’t from someone reporting news. It is someone’s own idea of what trade should be made.
  5. jorgenswest
    That Vazquez play was outstanding. The ninth inning double play was so big too. We have learned this year that a pitcher’s throw to a base isn’t a certainty. That throw was spot on for the double play.
  6. jorgenswest
    Arguably yes. Yesterday his game score was 74. His best game score as a Twin is 75 in a game last year against the White Sox with 7 shut out innings. Given the quality of competition I would have to give the nod to last night’s game. He has another 74 in an 8 inning start against Cleveland last year. It might take precedence given the importance of the game but Duran blew the save in the 9th. He also has a 73 against Boston as a Twin. Probably not his best start ever though. He had three starts with game scores in the 80s in his rookie season.
  7. jorgenswest
    I disagree that it is a rumor. A rumor needs to be based on some information about talks between the teams. It appears simply to be an idea of someone on the outside and not someone reporting on baseball.
  8. jorgenswest
    I would be getting someone ready and send out Paddack.
  9. jorgenswest
    Anyone saying what they would do? I am sending out Paddack in the 8th with Stewart warming up ready to come in. Coloumbe for the top of the order in the 9th. Score some runs and Paddack gets more leash.
  10. jorgenswest
    McCusker has no innings of first base. He didn’t play there in summer ball. He didn’t play there in college. He didn’t play there in independent ball. He didn’t play there in the majors. It doesn’t seem possible that at all those levels of playing corner outfield it never occurred to anyone to look at him at first base. It is likely they all did. It is also likely that he doesn’t have the skill set to play a passable first base. It takes good feet and good hands. There seems to be to be an assumption anyone can play first base. I believe that is true of catchers and infielders who need those hands and feet. If I see a right handed throwing player that has been strictly a corner outfielder with no innings at first base or anywhere in the infield I would assume that he had shots in practice and it didn’t work. They gave a Gasper a shot at catching a knuckleballer yesterday. He looked good from my view on MILB TV. He might be the Twins best option if a catcher goes down and it might be his best shot at a career in the majors. Glad they are giving him time behind the plate. Has anyone noticed the Priellipp’s last two starts have come 6 days apart instead of the 7 that he started the year with? Last year his 9 appearances were spaced 7 days apart also. Small steps.
  11. jorgenswest
    I have shared a few threads the quote from the Padres manager about not having an all right or all left line up to let the pitcher get in a rhythm. I know this is anecdotal but on Tuesday the left handed starter was in a nice rhythm to start the game with 7 outs in 7 batters. Larnach was the first lefty he faced. Larnach singled. The 5 right handed batters after Larnach did some significant damage. The only one that didn’t get on base was France who hit the ball to the top of the wall 410 feet with an exit velocity of 105.3. I have no idea if Larnach threw him off rhythm in this case. I do think it can happen though. I think there is value in having a few left handed bats in that lineup against a lefty even if their splits suggest otherwise.
  12. jorgenswest
    I really wanted SWR to get through that inning. The big mistake was that meatball to Kjerstad. Provus was in the middle of saying that Kjerstad swings at the first pitch at a very high rate as the pitch arrived at the plate. You can’t give him a pitch in the middle of the plate on the first pitch. You probably shouldn’t throw a strike on that pitch. That could not possibly have been the game plan for a hitter that swings so often and rarely walks. If he can execute the gameplan he probably gets Kjerstad out and maybe gets a chance in the 6th. Fun game to watch. Good defense. Big hits. Shut down bullpen.
  13. jorgenswest
    I was thinking yesterday how much hope we have that things will be different with new owners. The new Oriole ownership was approved last March 27 so this was their first off season. They signed one free agent to a multiyear deal in Tyler O’Neill for 3/49. I think Twin fans would see that as pretty underwhelming in the first off season of a new ownership. The new owners likely were involved in the Burnes deal last winter that happened just after news of the proposed deal. That really wasn’t a burden on the budget though. The cost to the Orioles was prospects not dollars. They didn’t follow up that trade by securing Burnes with a big contract extension. The Orioles did add to payroll with several moderate one year deal for Morton, Sugano, Kittredge, Sanchez and Laureano but we have experienced several of those kind of one year deals for aging veterans with our current ownership.
  14. jorgenswest
    I am not sure rumor is the correct term for the Ryan to the Orioles. It was Bowden writing about 5 trades he would like to see and not based on any information about Ryan involved in any trade talk. I am not sure of the Lopez to Dodgers source.
  15. jorgenswest
    I really don’t see it. He has no home runs and an ISO of .105. If anything I think he was better at the plate last year. He struck out less and had more power in a park that depresses power numbers. I don’t think he has done enough to merit a call up to AA this year. His OBP is fueled by a bunch of singles thanks to a .500 BABIP and 6 HBPs.
  16. jorgenswest
    @bean5302 Do you think Bride is a better fit on the bench over Clemens? Would you be more optimistic about Bride? Positionally Bride, Clemens, Gasper and Julien have so much overlap and maybe only one is needed. Short of Wallner or Keaschall returning is there a better option for the bench than keeping two of those four?
  17. jorgenswest
    I would send Julien down. He is so limited on how he can help the team from the bench. He wouldn’t be useful as a defensive sub or pinch runner. A pinch hitter often comes up where a ball in play is needed. That isn’t his skill with the bat. I think Gasper is similar but less upside with the bat. I guess he helps as a third catcher but so does Bride. Keirsey is a much better fit on the bench. He also has never showed in the minors a likelihood of being an average major league bat. His best wRC+ seasons in the minors of 119 and 116 are suggestive of a mediocre major league hitter and AAAA player that helps a roster with the other parts of their game.
  18. jorgenswest
    Agree on McCusker. As for bullpen use I think there are several teams with similar or more extreme use of the pen this year. The Twins are 7th in bullpen games and 15th in bullpen innings. The Dodgers have the best record in baseball and go to their bullpen more than any other team. Other winning teams also make frequent use of their bullpen. Teams can win going to their bullpen frequently. They can’t win when they score two or fewer runs in nearly half their games. They need more offense and McCusker might be the best hope right now.
  19. jorgenswest
    Bride is likely a marginal major leaguer that wouldn’t be on most rosters. On this roster he should be the everyday third baseman. I don’t think Keirsey or Clemens or Gasper should ever be in the lineup over him. Sadly there is little to utilize from the bench on this roster right now. Perhaps if Keirsey were to get regular play in AAA he might get to a point where he has something to offer.
  20. jorgenswest
    I thought their best chance to win was to pitch Duran in the 8th, score a run in the 9th and then bring back Duran for the bottom in the 9th. Duran did his part and kept the pitch count low enough to come back out. Like so many times this series, they didn’t score that run. They did get a runner on and then got caught stealing which was the first caught stealing in Clase’s career.
  21. jorgenswest
    I thought the best route to a win was to pitch Duran against the top of the order in the 8th score a run in the 9th and bring back Duran to finish it. They needed that stolen base to get into scoring position in the 9th inning. Prior to last night base runners were 21/21 against Clase. His only caught stealing in his career was in 2019 when a runner was caught at home on a wild pitch. If the Twins are going to carry a player on the roster as a pinch runner/defensive sub they need someone who is going to get that stolen base against Clase every time.
  22. jorgenswest
    I thought about it. Paddack over his career has a lower OPS against (.678) facing a batter a third time than second(.788) and slightly lower than the first (.681). Most pitchers have a greater OPS the third part due to the skew of facing only the top of the line up the third time. It could mean nothing. It could mean that on Paddack’s good days you stick with him longer and have less patience on his bad days. If they aren’t going to stick with him on his good starts I don’t see why he is in the rotation.
  23. jorgenswest
    You are likely correct but I am not confident that Keaschall will stick at 2B. The better defense might be Lewis at 3B, Lee at 2B with Keaschall at 1B or Julien at 2B with Keaschall in LF. Ultimately 1B, 2B, 3B and LF need to go to the best hitters among the group and then slot them in defensively.
  24. jorgenswest
    Twins signed him to a two year minor league deal. I hope that he gets that shot at being healthy in 2026.
  25. jorgenswest
    Don’t the Angels have a .500 record when not playing the Twins? It was a nice sweep of a major league team that was 12-12 when they came to town.
×
×
  • Create New...