Tom Froemming

Yep, it's definitely early. We shall see, but I'd bet roughly 30 fanbases view their team's bullpen as a weakness right now.

So some more pitcher's fielding practice is in order.

Sure feels like this lineup could use a spark. Too bad they don't have a top hitting prospect just waiting in the wings across town. That'd be too good to be true.

Fact. Bullpen ranks entering today: ERA 8th WHIP 5th FIP 4th xFIP 3rd SIERA 3rd K-BB% 4th CSW 6th And giving up two runs on three hits and a walk over 4 1/3 innings today shouldn't do too much to hurt those numbers. The bullpen's WPA is junk, 19th in the league entering today, and that's part of how we get to 5-5, but all other signs are pointing to this unit not being an area of concern overall. To your other point ... Twins runs scored 2021 Innings 1-3: 21 Innings 4-6: 23 Innings 7-9: 13 When you're basically asking the bullpen to be perfect almost every night it's easy for it to feel like they're performing miserably.

It looks like Colome, Rogers, Duffey and Robles have combined to give up exactly one extra-base hit so far. Yeah, not worried.

The bullpen is going to give up some runs. Had Rogers been able to pull the ball out of his glove cleanly after fielding that bunt the Mariners wouldn't have scored. Not too concerned over stuff like that. If they start consistently getting shelled or can't find the zone for an extended period, then I'll worry.

I know it can be difficult for some relievers to get hot, sit between innings, and then go back out there, but I think it'd be valuable to get a few guys more accustomed to it. I'm always left scratching my head a bit when there's a relief outing that lasts less than 10 pitches.

Maybe Parker will end up expanding upon this, but for now here's a look at from last year to this year:

Correct, and at that time he essentially had made the same amount of progress through the minor league system as Baddoo had entering this year.

If it came down to it, I personally would have preferred Baddoo over Celestino. Had him ranked higher on my prospect list entering last year. And before Baddoo got hurt, I think we all had him higher (on the 2019 TD prospect list Baddoo was No. 10 and Celestino was 16). I also would have taken Baddoo over LaMonte Wade, who was still on the 40-man roster at the time of the Rule 5 Draft. Oh, and there were four empty spots. Oh, and two of the spots were occupied by Ian Gibaut and Brandon Waddell, who were both later outrighted (with Waddell being re-added this week). I do think it more came down to the Twins thinking nobody would take Baddoo/even it he was selected he wouldn't last past Spring Training than the Twins giving up on him. I know I was a bit surprised he was taken after missing all that time.

Here's every pitch Luis Arraez saw today. Fun to watch.

This feels like one of those "the only rule is it has to work" type situations. News flash: It worked. P.S. Get used to this, especially if it keeps working.

Thanks for following along. Yeah, if these guys keep taking care of business things are going to work out for them one way or another. Thanks Channing!

Hear ye, hear ye! All hail 2021 Sire of Fort Myers Derek Law!!! Before we get to coronation, let’s take a look back at how we got here.A special shoutout is certainly in order for Kyle Garlick. He hit .293/.304/.683 with a team-leading five home runs this spring, earning himself a spot on the Opening Day roster. Garlick both has previous MLB experience (42 games over the past two seasons with the Phillies and Dodgers) and is on the 40-man roster, so he was not Sire eligible. A tip ‘o the cap to him, regardless. The unique circumstances of Spring Training this year slightly limited opportunities in what’s already a competition that revolves around small samples. That created an incredibly right race for Sire of Fort Myers. Keon Broxton (.286/.394/.464) was the early favorite, but faded enough to fall out of contention. Brandon Waddell had some eye-popping performances (1.07 WHIP, 15 Ks), but couldn’t overcome a poor early outing that was the main culprit of a 4.82 ERA. Those two had strong showings, but three candidates emerged in the end. It’s difficult to ask for more than what utility man Tzu-Wei Lin did at the plate this spring, as he hit .300/.440/.600 (6-for-20 with three doubles, a homer and four walks). He also provided some strong glovework and was even two-for-two in stolen base attempts. He was overshadowed by a pair of relief pitchers who were nearly perfect. It’s nearly impossible to pitch any better than Luke Farrell did this spring. He had a 0.00 ERA, 0.63 WHIP and struck out 10 batters while not issuing a single walk. The only things holding him back were out of his control: playing time and quality of opponent. Farrell pitched just 6 1/3 innings this spring and his quality of opponent, a stat made available by Baseball-Reference, was far below that of Sire Law. Derek Law also had a 0.00 ERA, though he logged eight innings pitched. He posted a 0.75 WHIP and slightly edged out Farrell in K%. Law had a 44.8 K% (striking out 13 of the 29 batters he faced) while Farrell was at 41.7% (10 of 24). In quality of opponent score, the biggest differentiator, Law was at 9.2 (out of 10) and Farrell at 7.8. Waddell was also at 7.8 while Lin had a score of 6.4 and Broxton's was 6.1. Here's a look at Law's game log: Download attachment: LawGameLog.png Law's dominant spring comes after a year in which he spent the regular season at the Texas Rangers' alternate site. Prior to that, Law had racked up 167 games pitched in four total seasons with the Blue Jays and Giants. Law will have the crown, cape and scepter bestowed upon him, but for the first time in the award’s history the honor is not being accompanied with a spot on the active roster. The Twins Opening Day bullpen will be fully comprised of either holdovers from last season (Tyler Duffey, Taylor Rogers, Caleb Thielbar, Jorge Alcala, Cody Stashak and Randy Dobnak as the longman) or relievers signed to big league deals over the winter (Alex Colomé and Hansel Robles). There wasn’t an opportunity in the pen, no matter how well anyone pitched this spring. There was not a Sire of Fort Myers crowned last season, but Law follows in the footsteps of former winners Ryne Harper and Ryan LaMarre. Harper had a 0.00 ERA, 0.64 WHIP and 32.6 K% in 11 innings back in 2019. LaMarre hit .475/.511/.775 in 45 plate appearances back in 2018. For now Broxton, Waddell, Lin, Farrell and Law will serve as additional depth waiting in the wings. They’re also projected to be among the first class of St. Paul Saints players affiliated with the Twins once the minor league season commences in May. Thank you to everyone who followed along with this year’s race for Sire of Fort Myers. This is an exercise I enjoy every year because I am desperate to find any good reason to pay attention to Spring Training games. Now that a Sire has been crowned, it’s on to what we’ve all been waiting for ... Happy Opening Day Eve. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email Click here to view the article

All of the responses were submitted prior to the Eloy injury.

Hear ye, hear ye! ‘Tis time to check in on the race for 2021 Sire of Fort Myers. Let’s take a look at the finalists for the crown, cape and scepter.Before we get started, let’s take a look at the roster activity from over the past week. March 24: Alex Kirilloff optioned. Charlie Barnes, Griffin Jax, Caleb Hamilton, Trevor Larnach, Royce Lewis re-assigned. March 25: Lewis Thorpe optioned. Andrew Romine exercised his opt out. Andrew Albers, Luke Farrell, Ian Hamilton, Juna Minaya, Glenn Sparkman, David Banuelos re-assigned. March 27: Tzu-Wei Lin, JT Riddle, Keon Broxton, Tomas Telis, Rob Refsnyder re-assigned. The Twins Opening Day roster picture is starting to develop, but these transactions don’t prevent anyone from still participating in spring games. There have been some really great Spring Training performances this year. Kenta Meada (0.49 ERA in 18 1/3 innings) and Randy Dobnak (0.66 ERA in 13 2/3 innings) have been nearly perfect. Kyle Garlick and Willians Astudillo have also been impressive in their pursuit of an Opening Day roster spot. None of those four are eligible for Sire of Fort Myers, as they’re all on the 40-man roster and have previous MLB experience, but it’s worth recognizing their efforts this spring. The early favorite for Sire of Fort Myers has faded as of late. Keon Broxton is in a 1-for-11 mini slump, which was enough to open the door for him to be leapfrogged. Tzu-Wei Lin has looked good in the field and has a .313/.476/.500 batting line in 21 plate appearances. Trevor Larnach made an impact this week, but unless he gets a lot of looks over these final few games it’s too little too late. He’s 4-for-12 with a double and a pair of home runs this spring. This year’s altered schedule and rules for Spring Training appear to have somewhat limited playing time for Sire of Fort Myers candidates. Broxton leads all Sire candidates with 31 plate appearances and Waddell is the innings leader at 8 1/3. To put that into perspective, 2018 Sire of Fort Myers Ryan LaMarre had 45 plate appearances that year and 2019 winner Ryne Harper pitched 11 innings. Time is running out. There are only three games left on the Spring Training schedule. Who will be crowned 2021 Sire of Fort Myers? MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email Click here to view the article

After Tuesday’s Spring Training game the Minnesota Twins announced Alex Kirilloff was being optioned to the team’s alternate training site. Kirilloff was 4-for-31 with eight strikeouts and one walk, posting a batting line of .129/.182/.258 (.440 OPS) this spring.This transaction firmly plants Kirilloff on the outside looking in as it relates to making an early impact, but manager Rocco Baldelli was quick to point out Alex will only be a call away if the Twins need help.

It was a weird play. There was a runner on first, and it appeared that Broxton was expecting him to score. The lead runner ended up rounding third, tried to go back, by that time Broxton was there. Back to Law, he struck out two of the three batters he faced today in a perfect inning. So he's now struck out eight of the last 10 batters he's faced. Wow.

Hear ye, hear ye! ‘Tis time to check in on the race for 2021 Sire of Fort Myers. Let’s learn about a new face in the organization who brings plenty of MLB experience with him, right-handed reliever Derek Law.Before we get started, let’s take a look at how the talent pool has been thinned out over the past week. TRANSACTIONS March 14: Dakota Chalmers, Bailey Ober, Jordan Balazovic and Jhoan Duran all optioned to alternate training site. March 15: Ben Rortvedt, Nick Gordon, Travis Blankenhorn and Gilberto Celestino all optioned to alternate training site. March 19: Shaun Anderson and Devin Smeltzer optioned to alternate training site. In addition to the roster being trimmed, the regulars are starting to see more playing time. That combined with the fact the Twins haven’t been playing very well this spring has resulted in a narrow field in the competition for Sire of Fort Myers. Entering the weekend, the Twins ranked dead last in on-base percentage and run differential, 29th in slugging and 26th in both ERA and WHIP. Yikes. There’s no reason to panic over Spring Training stats, but you’d certainly rather see the Twins playing well. Keon Broxton, who entered camp the favorite, still sits atop my Sire of Fort Myers power rankings (remember, guys on the 40-man roster who have MLB time like Kyle Garlick, Randy Dobnak and Lewis Thorpe are ineligible). Aside from Broxton, Derek Law is another player who has impressed. In four outings so far this spring, Law has pitched four shutout innings, surrendered just one hit to go along with one walk. He was really impressive his last two outings, striking out six of the seven batters he’s faced. The other reached on an error. Of the non-roster invitee pitchers, Law has the most major league time, racking up 167 games pitched from 2016-19. He spent last season at the Texas Rangers’ alternate site. Law had an outstanding rookie season for the Giants in 2016, pitching to a 2.13 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 5.56 K:BB ratio in 55 innings. He ranked 16th in both ERA and FIP among the 135 qualified relievers that season. Law, 30, couldn’t replicate that success over the next three seasons, posting a 5.25 ERA while struggling with control. His walk rate ballooned from 4.2% his rookie season to 11.9% over the next three years. Law strays from the recent Twins relaimation reliever model in that he has a full arsenal. You’re not likely to see him suddenly start featuring one of his pitches excessively, a la Matt Wisler. In 2019, Law threw his fastball 36.7 percent of the time, his slider 30.5 percent of the time, his curveball 19.9 percent of the time and his changeup 12.9 percent of the time. That’s a pretty deep mix for a reliever these days. Download attachment: pitch-types-for-law-dere.jpeg Derek’s father, Joe Law, was a pitcher himself. Joe was called up to the Oakland A’s on two different occasions in 1988 but never appeared in a major league game. So you can bet Derek savors every moment he gets in the big leagues. For more on Derek and Joe Law, check out this great profile by MLB.com’s Walter Villa from back in 2016. In addition to Broxton and Law, there are other candidates who still have a shot at the crown. It’s the same bunch that I featured in my Sire of Fort Myers update last week. Speaking of which, Brandon Waddell may have seemed like an odd inclusion among the top candidates a week ago, but he’s continued to turn heads. He gave up four earned runs in his second spring outing but has given up just one hit over 5 2/3 shutout innings since. In that time he’s struck out 10 batters without issuing a walk. The Twins have just 10 Spring Training games left to play. Which players have caught your eye so far this spring? MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email Click here to view the article