Tom Froemming

Alright folks, you heard the man. Pack it all up, we're closing down shop until the Twins are worth writing/talking about again.

Thanks for this Steve. I appreciate your description of his swing. It's been fun to watch Alex hit here and there on MiLB.tv, it seems like every at-bat I catch he's driving the ball to the opposite field.

I'd like to pass this along in regard to Romero's changeup. via Mike Barardino's YouTube account: "I was working a month ago with Fernando Rodney. So I was trying to get like the way he's throwing his pitch. The way he grips it." So he overhauled his changeup grip a little over a month ago now and it's already a useful pitch against MLB hitters. Pretty awesome.

With another victory Tuesday afternoon, the Twins are now on a five-game winning streak, putting them just a game out of first place in the American League Central division. Jake Odorizzi gave up a home run to the third batter he faced, but it was all Twins from there. The Twins tallied seven unanswered runs to blow out the Cardinals in a nice little afternoon at the ballpark.Snapshot Info Record: 15-17 Odorizzi: 56 Game Score, 65.6 Strike%, 5.0 P, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K Bullpen: 4.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 IR, 0 IS, 4 K, 0 BB Hitters: 4-for-10 w/RISP, 8 LOB, 4 K, 3 BB Top 3 per WPA: Grossman .287, Odorizzi .164, Garver .154 Win Expectancy Chart (via FanGraphs) Download attachment: chart.png This was the ninth consecutive game in which the Twins’ starting pitcher went at least five innings. That streak has really aided the bullpen in finding its footing. As an added bonus, the Twins have a day off tomorrow before they start a four-game series at Anaheim. Odorizzi kept things pretty simple, pounding four-seam fastballs up in the zone while mixing in the slider outside to right-handers and the splitter low to lefties. It was an effective plan of attack, as after that first inning homer Odorizzi only gave up one more hit. Download attachment: chart (1).png The bats had a tough assignment in Carlos Martinez, but they passed with flying colors. Martinez had given up just three earned runs over his previous six starts. He’d also gone at least six innings in each of those starts. The Twins scored four runs against Martinez and bounced him from the game after five innings. Two of those runs were unearned, as the St. Louis defense committed three errors. Eddie Rosario has been an absolute monster. He entered today with a 1.032 slugging percentage over 31 plate appearances in May. That’s not a typo, we’re talking just slugging percentage, not OPS. Today, he was 2-for-5 and scored three runs. That Eduardo Escobar has been lighting it up all season. He also had two hits, including a two-run homer. Robbie Grossman has also been heating up of late. He had a big two-run double and drew a pair of walks. The bullpen was perfect. Ryan Pressly for two innings, Taylor Rogers for one, then an inning from Phil Hughes. No hits, no walks. Absolutely beautiful way to finish up this brief two-game series at St. Louis. Up Next Wed OFF Thu at LAA, 9:07 pm CT Fri at LAA, 9:07 pm CT Last Three Games MIN 6, STL 0: Fernand0 R0mer0!!!! MIN 5, CHW 3: Rosario Lifts Twins to Third Straight Victory MIN 8, CHW 4: Rosario Drives in Five More From Twins Daily Top Twins Prospects Are Performing The K Brigade: Twins Pitchers on a Strikeout Binge What's Gotten Into Kyle Gibson? Click here to view the article

If we want to look at the other extreme, the Dodgers have already had to turn to Walker Buehler, who's only thrown 106 2/3 innings in the minors. Much like Romero, that doesn't seem to be having any negative impact on him, as Buehler has a 1.13 ERA over three starts for LA. Some guys need more time in the minors, some don't. I have no clue how a team would go about identifying the difference, but I'm pretty certain both Romero and Buehler haven't ridden their last bus at this point. They'll both likely have some flaws exposed at some point and will need to go back down to iron things out. But, you never know.

He throws a four seamer and two seamer, so that makes four pitches. Those two are basically the same velocity, but the two seamer/sinker has some more arm-side action. He's been throwing one of those fastballs 66% of the time, the slider around 25% and then the changeup has been more of a show-me pitch at around 9%. His control was fine, he stayed in/around the zone pretty good, but if you watched where Wilson was setting up, Romero was missing sometimes very badly. Like Wilson would setup inside and Romero would miss outside. But, command is probably never going to be Romero's strong suit anyway, and there are a lot of pitchers who manage to pitch well in the bigs with a command issues. It certainly didn't hold Fernando back at all tonight. It also seemed like he was a bit sharper in the fifth and sixth innings. It was almost as if the pitch he drilled Kelly in the ribs on (96 mph, ouch) sort of forced him to focus more on spotting his pitches. Again, that's all just my take, somebody else could've seen things way different. Either way, a damn impressive performance. Jeff Johnson of the Cedar Rapids Gazette wrote a nice article back in 2014 about his efforts to learn English. Pretty impressive that he's already comfortable enough to handle his postgame interviews. If anything I'd have thought this was way, way too early. That's more because of his experience than his age (23). Romero has only thrown 324 1/3 innings in the minors. Berrios, also still only 23, pitched 591 2/3 innings down on the farm, including 229 2/3 in Triple A alone. A guy with this little experience against upper-level hitters shouldn't be able to navigate a Major League lineup. As impressive as he's been physically, I think the mental side is even more impressive to me. For him to just jump right into the bigs and do this, I don't care how talented you are, that takes some really impressive mental makeup.

Fernando Romero couldn’t possibly improve upon his impressive major league debut, right? Wrong. Romero shut out the Cardinals over six innings, striking out nine batters in the process. He gave up just three hits and walked three. That’s now 11 2/3 shutout innings to open his career.Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs) Download attachment: Snapshot57.png Download attachment: WinEx57.png Being a Twins fan, I’ve just conditioned myself to go into things expecting the worst, particularly when it comes to pitchers. I came up with dozens of legit excuses that could’ve been made if Romero came out and had a bad start. Sure, he had already gotten his debut out of the way, but this was his first road start. Pitching in enemy territory can be difficult. While they’ve had some injuries, the Cardinals lineup is among the more patient in baseball. That’s not easy to contend with. Let’s see what else? There’s the difference between the MLB ball and the one they use in the minors. That really seemed to be an issue for Jose Berrios (pun intended). Romero was also going to have to hit for the first time since he was a young boy. You could see where that may have messed with his nerves. Plus, he had to deal with Robbie Grossman being his right fielder. OK, that last one was a joke. Nothing seemed to faze Romero. He actually didn’t have excellent command, but his pitches were so nasty it didn’t matter. He got strikeouts when he needed, and in his final inning he induced a huge double play when he really needed it. St. Louis got its leadoff man aboard in three separate innings. It didn’t matter. Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Download attachment: Bullpen57.png Next Three Games Tue at STL, 12:15 pm CT Thu at LAA, 9:07 pm CT Fri at LAA, 9:07 pm CT Last Three Games MIN 5, CHW 3: Rosario Lifts Twins to Third Straight Victory MIN 8, CHW 4: Rosario Drives in Five MIN 6, CHW 4: Twins Slug Four Homers in Victory More From Twins Daily What's Gotten Into Kyle Gibson? Week in Review: Baby Steps Edwar Colina: From Chilly Home Opener to No-Hitter Click here to view the article

I'm a lot less concerned about Miguel Sano's diet after learning about Mr. Gorske

There is a Tweet embedded into the article that includes video of the play. I know for a lot of people (myself included), Twitter is blocked on their work computer, so nothing shows up in the article in that case. Embedding the Tweets is the quickest and easiest way for me to include any video clips into these recaps, but if there's a lot of people who aren't able to see them I can try to explore some other options.

Things can change quickly in a baseball game. James Shields carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning, by the end if that frame the Twins had the lead. Kyle Gibson turned in a quality start, Eddie Rosario had another big game and Fernando Rodney picked up another save.Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs) Download attachment: Snapshot56.png Download attachment: WinEx56.png Rosario’s so hot right now that the American Academy of Dermatology recommends that you reapply sunscreen each time he steps into the box. Rosie drove in the first Twins run of the game in the seventh inning. He also stole second base and scored on a Logan Morrison double in that inning. In the ninth, Rosario hit his seventh home run of the season to give the Twins a nice insurance run, which is always appreciated prior to the Fernando Rodney Experience. Eddie accounted for half of the Twins’ four hits on the afternoon. Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Download attachment: Bullpen56.png Next Three Games Mon at STL, 7:10 pm CT Tue at STL, 12:15 pm CT Thu at LAA, 9:07 pm CT Last Three Games MIN 8, CHW 4: Rosario Drives in Five MIN 6, CHW 4: Twins Slug Four Homers in Victory CHW 6, MIN 5: Twins Blow 5-1 Lead More From Twins Daily Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month - April 2018 (Nick Anderson) Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher Of The Month - April 2018 (Aaron Slegers) Twins Minor League Hitter Of The Month - April 2018 (Zander Wiel) Click here to view the article

Zach Littell threw six shutout innings in his Triple A debut, LaMonte Wade hit a three-run homer in an 11-run night for Chattanooga and Trey Cabbage was 3-for-4 with a homer in a big offensive night for Cedar Rapids. Also, Blayne Enlow returned from the DL and both Nick Gordon and Royce Lewis had multi-hit games (among many others).TRANSACTIONS With Jason Castro placed on the DL, catcher Bobby Wilson was called up from Rochester. The Red Wings activated Brock Stassi from the temporary inactive list. The Kernels activated Blayne Enlow from the DL and assigned Rickey Ramirez to he E-Town roster. Enlow was recovering from a lower back strain. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 8, Lehigh Valley 0 Box Score W: Zack Littell (6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 6 K) HR: Taylor Featherston (2) Multi-hit games: Jake Cave, James Ramsey, Jermaine Curtis, Featherston. Zack Littell impressed in his Triple A debut, shutting out the IronPigs for six innings. He walked four batters, which is very uncharacteristic for the 22-year-old, but he also racked up six strikeouts. Altogether, Littell now has 38 strikeouts and 11 walks over 29 innings this year. The Wings’ bats provided Littell with a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning, thanks to RBI singles from Sean Miller and Jermaine Curtis. Then they really took the pressure off with a five-run fourth inning that was highlighted by a two-run single from Leonardo Reginatto and a Jake Cave double that also plated a pair of runs. The Rochester lineup has gotten off to a sluggish start, posting a league-worst .620 OPS as a team, so the offensive outburst is an encouraging sign. Cave and James Ramsay both had three hits while Curtis and Taylor Featherston each collected two hits, with Featherston socking his second homer of the season. Alan Busenitz threw two scoreless innings and struck out four batters and John Curtiss also delivered a scoreless frame. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 11, Mobile 5 Box Score W: Randy LeBlanc (5.0 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K) HR: LaMonte Wade (4) Multi-hit games: Edgar Corcino, Nick Gordon, Chris Paul, T.J. White, Alex Perez, Tanner English. Oh what a night for the Lookouts’ lineup. They combined to score 11 runs on 14 hits and drew nine walks. The biggest blow came from LaMonte Wade, who blasted a three-run homer with two outs in the fifth inning. Chris Paul hit a pair of doubles, Edgar Corcino drove in three runs and Tanner English scored three times. Nick Gordon was 2-for-3 with a pair of walks and is now hitting .337 for Chattanooga. Randy LeBlanc held the BayBears scoreless over the first four innings, but then ran into a bit of trouble in the fifth. He gave up three runs over five innings and had five strikeouts. He earned his fourth victory of the year. Williams Ramirez gave up two runs in his two innings of relief. Todd Van Steensel was perfect over the final two innings and had three strikeouts. MIRACLE MATTERS Jupiter 2, Fort Myers 1 Box Score SP: Brady Anderson (6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K) HR: None Multi-hit games: Taylor Grzelakowski Brady Anderson turned in a quality start but the Miracle offense struggled. The only run Fort Myers scored was on a wild pitch. Anderson was going right after hitters, needing just 71 pitches to complete six innings. He has a 5.59 ERA on the year, but has walked just two batters in 25 1/3 innings pitched. Ryan Mason, who was the runner up for Twins Daily’s Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month award for April, turned in two shutout innings, striking out three batters in the process. Andrew Vasquez pitched a scoreless ninth to finish up a strong performance from the pitching staff. The Miracle had some scoring chances, but they were 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base. Catcher Taylor Grzelakowski had a great night, going 2-for-2 with a double and a pair of walks. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 7, West Michigan 6 Box Score W: Randy Dobnak (5.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K) SP: Blayne Enlow (2.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K) HR: Trey Cabbage (2), Ben Rortvedt (1) Multi-hit games: Trey Cabbage, Royce Lewis, Ben Rortvedt. Blayne Enlow was on a short leash, this being his first start off the DL, but he showed some good signs. He struck out three batters and threw 73.2 percent of his pitches for strikes (30 of 41). On the down side, he also gave up a run on four hits and a walk over his two innings. It was a big night for the Cedar Rapids offense, led by Trey Cabbage, who was 3-for-4 with a homer and three RBI. Ben Rortvedt also hit a homer, drove in two runs and scored three times. Royce Lewis was 2-for-5 and stole his ninth base. Akil Baddoo was 1-for-3 with two walks and a couple of stolen bases. Randy Dobnak did a great job shouldering the load after Enlow’s exit, holding the Whitecaps to two runs over five innings while striking out five batters. STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day: Zack Littell (6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 6 K) Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day: Trey Cabbage (3-for-4, HR, 3 RBI, R) TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Prospects performed: #1 Royce Lewis: 2-for-5, SB #3 Nick Gordon: 2-for-3, 2B, 2 BB, #5 Alex Kirilloff: 1-for-3, 2B, BB, R #8 Blayne Enlow: 2.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K #10 Akil Baddoo: 1-for-3, 2 BB, R, 2 SB #11 Zack Littell: 6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 6 K #13 Lewin Diaz: 1-for-4 #14 LaMonte Wade: 1-for-5, HR, BB, 3 RBI, 2 R #16 Ben Rortvedt: 2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI, 3 R #17 Travis Blankenhorn: 1-for-4 SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester vs. Lehigh Valley, 12:05 pm CT: Stephen Gonsalves (0.00 ERA, 0.26 WHIP) Chattanooga at Mobile, 2:05 pm CT: TBD Fort Myers vs. Jupiter, 3:00 pm CT: Clark Beeker (2.76 ERA, 1.35 WHIP) Cedar Rapids va. West Michigan, 2:05 pm CT: Bryan Sammons (3.06 ERA, 1.36 WHIP) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the games. Click here to view the article

The Twins needed this. Not just a victory, but a blowout so the top bullpen arms could all have a night off. Lance Lynn needed this too. He’d been about as bad as anyone could have imagined in his first five starts as a Twin. And it was all thanks in large part to Eddie Rosario.Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs) Download attachment: Snapshot55.png Download attachment: WinEx55.png The Twins jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first, but Lynn did his best to make things interesting in the bottom of the inning. The White Sox scored a run on four hits, but with the bases loaded, Daniel Palka grounded into a double play. That was a huge turning point for Lynn in this game, and hopefully ends up representing the turning point in his season. Over the next five innings, Lynn only gave up four hits and one more run. The biggest plus sign was his control. After issuing 23 free passes in his first 23 2/3 innings, Lynn didn’t walk a single batter. He threw 71 of his 97 pitches for strikes. Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Download attachment: Bullpen55.png Next Three Games Sun at CHW, 1:10 pm CT Mon at STL, 7:10 pm CT Tue at STL, 12:15 pm CT Last Three Games MIN 6, CHW 4: Twins Slug Four Homers in Victory CHW 6, MIN 5: Twins Blow 5-1 Lead MIN 4, TOR 0: Fernandomania! Click here to view the article

Eduardo Escobar slugged two homers and a double while Brian Dozier was a double shy of the cycle to lead the Twins to victory in a nice night for the bats. Jose Berrios still didn’t look his best, but managed to pitch six innings, and Fernando Rodney nailed down the save.Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs) Download attachment: Snapshot54.png Download attachment: WinEx54.png It was home run derby early on at Guaranteed Rate Field (yuck), as the Twins slugged four home runs in the first three innings. Logan Morrison joined Escobar and Dozier in the tater parade. Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Download attachment: Bullpen54.png Next Three Games Sat at CHW, 6:10 pm CT Sun at CHW, 1:10 pm CT Mon at STL, 7:10 pm CT Last Three Games CHW 6, MIN 5: Twins Blow 5-1 Lead MIN 4, TOR 0: Fernandomania! TOR 7, MIN 4: WHAT IS HAPPENING!?!?!? Click here to view the article

It didn't work out, but it was because of Grossman. If that's Max Kepler out in right field and he makes the catch, or at the very least prevents Abreu from scoring from first base, things probably would've worked out just fine. Davidson was going to be the last batter Odorizzi was going to face anyway.

Yep. Waaaaaaay behind the plate. Past the seats, past the concourse and right out onto 7th St.

Robbie Grossman since 6/14/2017 326 PAs .217/.309/.335 .644 OPS Just for some perspective ... Jason Castro since 6/14/2017 303 PAs .223/.315/.341 .655 OPS

These are valid points, but I think Molitor saw this as an opportunity to squeeze a little more out of his starter to try and take some pressure off the pen. if Grossman catches that ball, or if the offense had been able to keep things rolling, nobody's talking about Odorizzi today. This kinda ties into my point above. If you're not wasting space on the roster, maybe your manager doesn't have to try and avoid using his bullpen. Much like with Tyler Kinley, it's really difficult to hide a pitcher in a MLB bullpen these days. It seems like that's going to be the plan with Hughes. And for what? You gotta either use him, or let him go. Guy hasn't been out there for six days, and his last time out he only threw 61 pitches. There are a lot of Twins fans that have guys like Lynn, LoMo, Rodney or Sano in their crosshairs, but the guys who are hurting this team and have shown very little reason for optimism are Hughes and Grossman.

Agree on both points. When your team is is trouble it needs to be your stars, your clubhouse leaders, that find a way to bring everybody out of the darkness. Not only is Dozier not hitting, there just doesn't seem to be much life to him. I don't know, maybe he's holding meetings and trying to rally the troops behind close doors, but this team either needs him to get going or for another another guy to step into that role. Grossman is a square peg trying to fit into a round hole right now. He's not an everyday outfielder and this year's team doesn't have a need at DH, so once everybody's healthy he'll become redundant anyway. Might as well find another player to call up who better suits this team's needs right now.