Rosterman

Old School. Pitchers will never ever go deep again. The days of complete games, and even getting full credit for a shutout are long since past. Sadly. Thru the first third of the season, the Twins have ben extremely lucky. All their starters will pitch just south or north of 25 games, if we hold to the current path. The Twins have been able to field a six-man rotation pitching like they were a five. All the starters, except for Gray, were expected to implode if pushed past 150 innings. Guys rotating thru injury and COVID lists, plus the ability to short start the season thru mid-June with an enhanced bullpen, has given the Twins a slight edge in that regard. The guys have been able to build up endurance. The bigger question is can the bullpen sustain, following Rocco's pre-game schedule of who does what, when. If starters can barely pitch into the sixth, the days of bullpen arms pitching multiple innings without rest inbetween, or a bullpen arm pitching 2-3 and maybe four days in a row, are done and gone. We are seeing 100 mph pitchers happening a tad more frequenbt. As long as batters suffer with pitcher changes (even the sad "must face three batters rule seems a joke"), and you have the ability to actually find relief arms that can pitch 40-50 outings, managers will short the starters and increase use of the pen. Especially if you have a pipeline to the minors. Sure, there are restrictions now where a guy has to stay down 10 days. But that doesn't stop you from rotating guys off the 40-man, especially now as the season progresses and you can bring in a fresh arm (with experience) that you may only need once or twice before sending on their way (Cotton). The only flipside of the Twins is that they are pretty much stuck at seven rotation arms right now. Winder is still injured and could thrive as a long man, if you can afford a roster spot - again - for a guy who is pushing it to go four innings, be it as a starter or out of the pen. WInder needs to stretch out as a starter at St. Paul. Bundy is NOT a gem. If they need an 8th, the choices are Henriquez, Balazovic and Sands...none of whom are performing well, and shows the problem of putting unknown prospects that still need minors time on the 40-man. And, final point - fans are fickle. We yell if a guy loads the bases and is allowed to try and get out of an inning. We yell if he is pulled too soon in a close game and a pitcher thrtows a home-run ball (which happens more than not). We scream that they pay too much time looking at iPads and video. Yet as long as a manager wins, all is forgiven. Even when we can also blame the front office for not giving us 100% workable, always a win, pieces of players.

I think the bigger concern is the pen imploding. All those free agent arms sitting in St. Paul aren't looking too good to even considering rotating in - Angulo, Sanchez, Ramirez, Gonzalez (we saw him - a vet starter - only give us three against Toronto), Bashlor, Viza, Jurado, Patricka. Wood is a project at the training camp. Newbie Thornburg should've pushed any of the previous mentioned name to free agency. Derek Rodriguez probably gets another go, as the Twins hjave been giving Cotton. Not sure if Minaya sticks. But the current bullpen is destined to be worn thru and through. Duran could (and should) be the closer. But he, too, can only pitch so many innings. Plus learning to be a pressure pitcher in an environment where every win is important can be daqunting to even the msot experienced vet. We might feel better that Alcala, Stashak, WInder (as a bullpen arm), and Coulombe will come back strong. We also haven't seen overuse of Cano, Moran, and Hamilton yet. ALl three could be destined for the second-half bullpen fulltime after working out some kinks in St. Paul. The Twins will eventually have a four-man bench. Kirilloff MIGHT push out Miranda. Celestino will probably push away Garlick. I almost wish we could afford to send Jeffers to St. Paul for a month or so, but there is no notable replacement down there (Morales is interesting, but more as a bench bat and third catcher). I wish Jair Camargo was further along. For all the "Twins team" stuff that seems to radiate from Rocci and the staff, I would like to see some consistency in the batting order and an understanding of where guys bat and play on a regular basis. Although I loved seeing Gordon getting hit, making a balk, stealing a base...this is what your super-sub does to make it worthwhile to replace a lineup regular. I think the rotation MIGHT just work out in the end. It has, thru various injuries, been a decent six man rotation - thus spredaing the workload that all guys might only need to start 25 games during this season. Add in another dozen starts from the likes of Winder, Sands and - fingers crossed - Balazovic, the Twins may be solid and have a BIG jumpstart on a super rotation for 2023. Especially if Madea can come back. The secret is: sooner guys can pitch into or past the sixth, the better. It would be nice to have another Jax in the pen for 2-3 innings. And we lose an arm come late June (which means the shuttle may be busier between St. Paul - but we will need a couple of rotating door 40-man spots to make it work). It hurst when you don't clobber teams like Detroit and Kansas City. But if the Twins can hold their own in the recent run against the East and Seattle, we can breathe a sigh of relief and just worry about where the team is come All-Star break.

Twins signed free agent Tyler Thornburg and assigned him to the Saints. https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/t/thornty01.shtml He had made nine appearances out of the pen for the Braves this season. He has pitched for Milwaukee, Boston and Cincinnati since making his major league debut in 2012.

Hamilton has only pitched 12 innings so far. That he has stayed with the Twins system into his third season means no one wants him, or the Twins really like him. He ahs to watch the walks. Has improved on those a bit this season. The Twins are getting a lucky look. Maybe they can get him into two game situations over the weekend and really evaluate him for the future. He was originaly signed in the 2020 off-season and put on the 40-man roster back then.

I'm looking forward to the return of Joe Ryan, and Correa. Also Winder and Alcala at some pooiint (although who will be gone). Can Buxton play regularly in centerfield and start hitting again? When will we see Alex Kirilloff, and will he be at first. Then what happens to Arraez? And will Chi Chi no-hit Toronto?

I find the Kepler case interesting, as it was mandatory for awhile to be able to travel to or from Europe for awhile during the past couple of years.

I masked up when I started to read the comments.

Celestino has been approved for reinstatement. Is travelling with the team to Toronto, but still is...weak. Contreras is also on the 40-man roster. So the Twins aren't getting a look at another player for free, so to speak. Here's hoping the Twins get two looks at Hamilton on the mound. The guy has the stuff and has been lights out this season with St. Paul, albeit only 12 innings pitched. He seems to have cut down on his walks just a tad. Chi Chi was signed when the Twins couldn't make 40-man roster adds, and the underlying seemed to be that he would've been signed as a 40-man guy. The Twins get the benefit of a major league looksee on a potential backend starter. Out of all the "vets" at St. Paul, Gonzalez and Derek Rodriguez seem to be the major two that could contribute to the Twins in a pinch. Rodriguez did for three innings before being sent out for a fourth earlier this year. Cano also was added to the pen in place of Grayt, so the pen should be solid for the three gamnes, although we don't have a closer (wait, we DON'T have a closer, okay). I'm hoping Joe Ryan can make a rehab appearance at St. Paul this weekend, so he can, at least, pitch a game against the Yankees, or at least start the Tampa Bay series. I was hoping he would've been back from COVID to finish the Detroit series.

The winner is actually Jose Berrios. He knew what he wanted, pretty much laid out the starting point for a contract, and the Twins balked. They traded him to Toronto. He pitched well for Toronto and they didn't balk, seeing that they could lock him up for 7 years for an amount many pitchers his age would get for five seasons. The Twins wouldn't do that. But if they had kept Berrios, he would have to pitch in 2022 like it would be the best season of his life...if he wanted big free agent monies. The flipside is that, yes, Berrios is facing clubs with more expensive payrolls. Martin is only in his second pro season. He may be good, but is he super great to make the jump to the Big Leagues that fast, coming from metal bats in college town? Plus, the was going to be an opportunity for him to settle into a position (or two) at AAA level, while the Twins sorted out the Royce Lewis issue (can he hit, is he our TOP prospect)m as the TYwins also sit on the bubble of the Correa contract and where to play Lewis, and also Martin, next season and for years to come. Looks like Martin can also bring the speed game to the Twins. What I like about Woods-Richardson is that he does seem to be growing as a pitcher. Working on areas that gave him trouble, developing better command. Both should make it to St. Paul once the Twins draft players that push everyone else up a rung in the minor league ladder, and when the Twins choose to cut bait with many of the fledging minor league free agents populating the roster in St. Paul.

So who from the Saints were seen walking the lobby of a DETROIT hOTEL TODAY?

Enjoyed this look at a way to combine arts and sports. Kudos to the Twins for letting the guy roam and paint!

The Twins so need Sano back!

MLB Trade Rumors finally noted this... https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2022/06/twins-sign-hunter-wood-to-minor-league-deal.html Wood is in training camp at Ft. Myers. Not sure how far or where he will end up as the season progresses.

What we are looking at, again, is who is going to give us 25 starts this season. Who is going to give us 30? Because of the starting depth that the team has, it should be a pretty decent season to get significant workload to ALL the pitchers. Injuries, short starts and all for the first quarter of the season is actually working to the Twins advantage. First off, WInder. Although I would like to see him start, he did what was called upon - started when needed due to injuries to others, and was a greaty piggyback on a short start. I picture that he will go back to St. Paul when the time comes to start on a regular basis. Archer and Bundy. Both are projects. We hope Bundy will hit 30 starts and 150 innings. Looks like he could easily do that. The rub is: will he just do it? Can he produce some better numbers overall? Can he make himself, by chance, a tradable commodity come the end of July? Archer should be the long-relief guy, pitching 3-4 innings every 3-5 days. He has 9 starts and 34 innings. His contract basically calls him a starter, not someone to follow an opener. Not someone to just get some innings. Will he be the odd guy out in the mix? Has he given ANY thought to becoming a dominating relief pitcher, even working towards being a closer? Smeltzedr has earned a spot in the rotation. One, he is left-handed. Two, he is pitching the innings. Will the league catch up to him (shades of Martin Perez discussed in another post). Or will he be successful longterm? You owrry that he can perform a full season with this many innings. He only threw 104 in 2019, and over the past two seasons only 20, which he has far surpassed alread. Ober and Ryan - be happy if both pitch 30 starts and 150 innings. Both should be capable of hitting those thresholds. And both have missed starts already this season. Gray - is working his own schedule. Is already starting the season slow, might have another disabled list stint. Somehow, with 7 starters (8 counting Sands) the Twins have MANAGED TO HAVE a five-man rotation. The pain is the top couple at AAA are stinking up the mound. Balazovic is a disaster. So much so I wouldn't even want to trust him in a double-header just to give him a taste of the majors. Strotman has become a bullpen arm, but hasn't adjusted like Griffin Jax, who by the way threw more pitches than six of the 7 starters. Henriquez is also a candidate, he is quite young, and is also overmatched. And unless the Twins are really desparate, I don't see them opening a 40-man spot for just a spot start or two with any of the AA guys of not: Canterino, Varland, Woods-Richardson - all three SHOULD advance to AAA but probably not the Twins before mid-September, if they can come to the roster even them. Enlow and Legumina will fill out the season at AA with longer-term hopes, for now. And the Twins do have Derek Rodriguez and Chi Chi Gonzalez begging for a shot back at the majors. Can the Twins find a way to rotate them in and not lose anyone off the 40-man. The Twins have 7 starters. Winder will probably be the odd man out. But that will still give them six and, eventually, a bullpen of 7. One has to be a viable pen option, and all the remaining have to always pitch five innings, preferably six...or the bullpen arms will be worn out.

Christian-Encarnacion-Strand - how bad was his May compared to his April?

If all of this COULD happen, the Twins would be unstoppable. I hope they do move on from a couple of veteran starters who have inning limits. I am hoping they pitch well enoiugh that a "lesser" team will at least trade a low level prospect for them. I had hoped better from Sands and Balazovic in St. Paul. Looks like they need a full season. Disappointed in Strotman. Henriquez is overmatched and should be cycled back to AA ball. Now I just hope the Twins will advance up to three prospects out of Wichita by mid-season to get their work against better batting. Although, right now, the Twins look interesting going into 2023: Ryan, Ober, WInder, Smeltzer. Whew. Throw in Madea coming back. You will still have Gray. And Paddack will be in the wings by mid-season (hopefully). The joy is that the next 4-6 arms in the pipeline will ALL have pitched at least 100 innings in 2022, if not more.

I am amazed at what happened with the no bench Saints. Unless I'm missing something, they still had Fisher, Sturgeon and Beckham on the bench. Or did they? Four catchers (and a fifth on the IL list). Hey, Wichita has five catchers, too...although most play other positions more often than not. In some ways, I thought the abundance of catchers was so that one would always be on the taxi squad, thus the luxury of only needing to carry two on the major league level. You always have one in the stands watching the game if the time comes. You have to realize that the Twins do have it nice, having their top farm club just across town - except on road trips.

I like this piece on the transaction when the Twins sent John to the Mariners back in 2019. https://www.twinkietown.com/2019/6/7/18653146/mlb-minnesota-twins-seattle-mariners-rejected-trade-returns-for-john-andreoli

I did a recap over the weekend at this link of ALL 100+ FORMER UNIFORMED TIWNS and how they are doing in the majors and minors this season. Take a look. (Three days of posts at the end of PAGE THREE - A comment exchange happened between one of them...you'd be surprised at all the people!) Going to continue to do updates monthly on th thread linked above as the season continues.

Twins get JOHN ANDREOLI from the Phillies for outfield depth at St. Paul. https://www.mlb.com/player/john-andreoli-607430 He was once a Twin back in 2019 when they traded Michael Reed to the Giants for John's contract. And then he was sent in a minor deal to the Mariners later that season.

Plus, he can sacrifice bunt....right?!?

You start with short starts. I guy can't throw more than 100 pitches. But at what point is it okay to throw 85 or 90...and we shouldn't totally judge a pitching performance on the number of pitches. A bullpen guy can come out and throw 25-30 pitchers and still be standing on the rubber looking at men on base, and you leave him in to work it thru...because the other guys aren't on the cycle to pitch today. The Twins have 14 frickin' pitchers. Even in the best of times, you never had that many. And you also seem to have a revolving door between AAA, even when they are out-of-town. And the slightest hick-up makes a guy inactive. If there is one positive, the Twins have been pushing their guys, often, towards more than one inning. That will really be fine if starters can give you six for sue and a 7th as a bonus (way to go, Smeltzer). What the Twins lack is consistent role players, or dependable arms that can pitch consecutive days, be it short, or maybe long. Smith was that crafty guy who could get you out of an inning. Megill may be that guy, too. Off-season, the writing was written-onthe-wall ragrding Duffey and Caleb Thielbar. If you could get something out of them while revalutaing the bullpen, it would be a plus. But it doesn't help when Coulombe, Alcala, Stashak go down. Well, maybe it does. We get to see more Moran. And maybe Cano will adjust and come back stronger than ever, of become the next...Anthony Slama. The Twins lack a real closer. They do have some good strikeout artists. They have decent put-the-ball in play guys. Actually, if they would improve on Duff and Thielbar, get a solid rotation going, and have arms like Jax/Winder/Smeltzer in relief right now (although the more we continue in the season, I'm feaering Bundy and Archer are 2022's Happ and Shoemaker light). I am taken aback that they are now monitoring throws in the bullpen. Charts and graphs and video and all is fine, but start talking to the guys...well, I guess you do because a zit popped on my butt and threw off my balance and I need to come out of the game, and if infected, go on the disabled list.

I keep thinking of the good thoughts we had on other St. Paul pitchers, like Ryan Mason, and currently Jordan Gore (not to mention "lights out" Yennier Cano). Plus Bryan Sammons. My question is, for COVID replacements are they required to pull ONLY from the AAA roster?

I can't quite figure out why the play against the Royals seems to be so tough. Yes, the Twins are 6-4 against them so far. The Royals pitching is a run-and-a-half worse overall than the Twins. Go figure.

Well, we discovered who was next. Interesting, looking at the bigger picture...the Twins have 18 position players on their 40-man. One is out long-term. If and when rosters expand to 13 required position players, that leaves the Twins with four able-bodied repalcements in the minors. Right now that is Kirilloff, Godoy, Miranda, Contreras. But looking over the minor league guys at St. Paul, and even Wichita, I really am hard-pressed to see who I would switch out for, say, Godoy or Contreras. The retrun of Cave? I imagine and of THE OTHER FOUR catchers at St. Paul could suitably replace Godoy (so that is questionable no-brainer). You don't want to advance lower level minor elague guys before you have to...let them get some exposure against AAA pitching. And you don't want an under-developed player holding a 40-man spot before they have to (are we going to see Balazovic or Enlow this season? Sands is far from ready, sadly. If you aren't going to use them, why are Strotman and Henriquez holding down valuable spots?)