Thiéres Rabelo

This offseason has been an overall frustrating experience for Twins fans so far. The impact-pitching search failed in theory and not many people feel like this team is a lot stronger than last year. However, this front office could be working on a different, smarter and unnoticed solution.With the rather unaggressive approach Derek Falvey and Thad Levine have taken this offseason, it might as well be a part of a much greater long-term project. What if the alternative here is soon becoming as dominant over a long stretch as the Dodgers have been? There are undeniable similarities between what the current Twins front office has been doing in the past three years and what Dodgers’ President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman has done, both with the Rays between 2008-14, and with Los Angeles in the last five seasons. One thing that makes Friedman a good comparison for “Falvine” is that he managed to find success without using all the Dodgers’ big market money. Here are the three main pillars from Friedman’s system and similarities to the current Twins’ approach. Player development Last year, the Dodgers secured their seventh consecutive NL West title. They didn't do it by signing big free agents. No team in baseball has a more successful core built by homegrown players. Here’s a list of some of the current players either drafted and developed by the club or signed internationally: Cody Bellinger, Cleyton Kershaw, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Kenley Jansen, Corey Seager, Alex Verdugo, Walker Buehler and Julio Urias. At the same time, Los Angeles still has the third-best farm system in the league. They are constantly adding and properly developing talent. In the last postseason, the Dodgers had the highest number of homegrown talents, with 15 of their 25 players, worth 34.4 Wins Above Replacement, also the highest among the ten teams in the postseason. The second team on both of those categories are the Twins, with 13 homegrown players, worth 28.4 WAR (you can check the full list here). Trading for under the radar talent One other feature that Friedman has been bringing to the table for his teams is the ability to make very smart trades, supplying the farm. Here are some examples: In 2012, while still with the Rays, he traded veterans Wade Davis and James Shields to Kansas City in exchange for prospects Wil Myers, Jake Odorizzi, Mike Montgomery and Patrick Leonard.In 2018, the Dodgers sent veterans Matt Kemp, Yasiel Puig, Alex Wood and Kyle Farmer to Cincinnati in exchange for Homer Bailey, Jeter Downs, and Josiah Gray. While Bailey was immediately released, Gray and Downs are currently the club's #4 and #5 prospects.Nate Palmer wrote a great article revisiting the great deals Minnesota made in 2018, which are just a few examples of how smart the Twins have been when making trades under this current regime. A lot of those prospects still need to materialize, but the Twins can either develop those players or use them as valuable trade pieces — like the Dodgers constantly do at the trade deadline. Finding good deals in free agency and waivers This last one may not be the best comparison now, since signing big free agents is not nearly a problem for the Dodgers. But while still in Tampa and with very limited money, Friedman managed to pick up some nice bargains at free agency, like Casey Kotchman in 2011, Jeff Keppinger and Fernando Rodney in 2012, and James Loney in 2013, all of who were one-year deals worth $2 million or less. Falvey and Levine have done the same in Minnesota. While there haven't been big splashes yet, they have landed great, team-friendly deals. Most noticeably, Nelson Cruz, Michael Pineda and Sergio Romo, which proved very successful. Even though the 2018 season didn’t pan out very well, they also had a very productive offseason, signing Lance Lynn, Logan Morrison, Fernando Rodney, Zach Duke and Addison Reed. Those players had good track records and were very sensible signings at the time. Recently, Matthew Taylor showed us how dangerous it can be to bet your future to seek a World Series title, using the Kansas City Royals example. Perhaps signing Rich Hill and Homer Bailey to one-year deals will not put the Twins closer to a ring this year, but I’m fine with that if it will bring the Twins closer to a dominance similar to the one the Dodgers have in the west. 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 the impact pitchers available in free agency are now gone and not one of them is headed to the Twin Cities. While getting creative with the remaining options is still on the table, we assume working out trades is the most effective way to go. Let’s take a look at the best Minnesota has to offer.Whereas prospects would be the main part of any deal, the Twins should have a list of MLB-ready talent that they would be willing to include in trade packages. Here’s my rank of current Twins who could be negotiated. 1) Eddie Rosario Despite being loved by a large part of the fanbase, there’s no denying Rosie is the Twins’ top trade asset. Even though I can see a big upside to keeping him, many fans were annoyed with the worsening of his defense and plate discipline as of late. Plenty of teams are still in pursuit of a corner outfielder and some of them could provide the Twins with acceptable starting pitching help, like Arizona and Detroit. Immediate replacement: Jake Cave has taken advantage of every opportunity he’s had in the majors so far. It makes a lot of sense to give him the everyday job out on the field. Potential suitors: Diamondbacks, Tigers, Mets, Cardinals, Reds, Padres, Blue Jays, Royals 2) Miguel Sanó Here’s a move that wouldn’t make a lot of Twins fans happy. Just this week I ran a poll on Twitter and nearly eight out of ten people opposed to trading Miggy Smalls. I wouldn’t love to see him getting traded either, but he could generate a huge return. Teams in need of both, first or third basemen (or a designated hitter) could really benefit from acquiring him. Sure, it would be painful to watch him leave, but depending on who the Twins get in exchange, it will be worth it. Aaron Gleeman and John Bonnes discussed that possibility on their last podcast. Immediate replacement: Again, it’s hard to imagine this scenario without knowing if Donaldson will accept the Twins’s offer. But Gonzalez is definitely the next in line to be the everyday third baseman. Potential suitors: Rays, Nationals, Braves, Rangers, Brewers, Tigers, Rockies (if they actually trade Nolan Arenado) 3) Jake Cave Exactly like Rosario, Cave could easily cater for a lot of team’s needs in the outfield. Perhaps he wouldn’t generate the same type of return as Rosie would, but put him alongside a couple of decent prospects in the package and you have yourself a pretty good case. Make them say no. Immediate replacement: Right now, LaMonte Wade Jr. should be your first choice to become the fourth outfielder, should Cave be traded. But down in the Minors the Twins could also turn to Brent Rooker, Luke Raley or even Alex Kirilloff. Marwin Gonzalez can do some work there too, if needed. Potential suitors: Diamondbacks, Tigers, Mets, Cardinals, Reds, Padres, Blue Jays, Royals 4) Lewis Thorpe Just like Cave, Thorpe probably wouldn’t provide the Twins with the best of returns by himself. If he actually gets dealt, he should be one of the pieces along a handful of prospects. With a very successful minor league career and already in the majors, Thorpe becomes a very interesting option for teams in need of both, rotation or bullpen help. Last week I discussed how he could help the Twins themselves in 2020. It’s a very long shot, but if the Rockies are serious about trading Arenado, Thorpe could be a great part of that package. Immediate replacement: since he’s still not an established member of the Twins rotation, the Twins won’t need to think too much about how to replace him. Devin Smeltzer, Randy Dobnak, Cody Stashak and Sean Poppen are all ready for stepping up, should he be traded. Potential suitors: Rockies, Marlins, Cubs, Blue Jays, Angels, Athletics, Astros 5) Willians Astudillo When the Twins signed Alex Avila, they made it clear that “La Tortuga” wouldn’t be Mitch Garver’s substitute. If there’s absolutely zero chance of Garver being moved to first, there’s not much of a point in keeping Astudillo around. Sure, he can put out fires basically in any position, but if you can get a decent package involving him, you shouldn’t say no. At least a couple of teams are in search of substitute a backstop. Astudillo has played very well in the past, which could indicate he can contribute effectively to a major league team. Immediate replacement: on the field, not needed. In our hearts, non-existent. Potential suitors: Rockies, Pirates 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

A lot of Twins fans are rather frustrated with how the offseason has been going so far. Possibly all of us expected big deals to have been signed by now, tackling the team’s biggest issues. Well, they haven’t been made yet. So, what can they do to solve their problems from within?Working out trades is still very much on the table, too. But maybe some of the prospects to be involved in them could, instead, effectively fill some of those gaps now. Not giving up much of the organization’s long-term future could be useful in a division full of teams that are investing hard on what lies ahead of them. First, we should point out the current obstacles the Twins have to become more than a great regular season ball club. I narrowed it down to two major areas, if you will, namely starting pitching and infield defense and gaps. Are there good enough options already in the organization? Starting pitching After bringing back Jake Odorizzi and Michael Pineda, two of the most dependable pitchers in the league this year, Minnesota still has two spots to fill. The free agency path hasn’t been taken yet, as multiple targets have signed somewhere else. Hyun-jin Ryu is still available and the Twins are reportedly in on him. There are also plenty of trade targets to be explored, but the Twins have at least one arm that could step up right now. Lewis Thorpe was among the most dominant pitchers in Triple-A last season. Among the 73 pitchers who logged 90 or more innings in Triple-A last season, Thorpe had the highest K/9 (11.12), swinging strike rate (14.5) and was second in K% (29.5). His first stint in the majors wasn’t exactly brilliant overall, but he did display some very exciting stuff, like his 1.95 FIP and 4.50 K/BB as a reliever. His pitch arsenal needs to be worked at, but he’s already got a Sergio Romo-esque slider, which resulted in a .199 WOBA and 44.6% Whiff%, both better than Romo’s slider itself. He’s bounced back very well from his Tommy John surgery (2015), logging 336 innings (including MLB) since coming back, in 2017, while posting a 3.91 ERA. Besides, throughout his minor league career, Thorpe has always shown a much-needed feature for this current Twins roster: he can be a serious threat to right-handed batters. If you think of how Wes Johson was able to transform 28-year-old Martín Pérez, however briefly, into a great pitcher during the first half of the season, it becomes fun to imagine what he can shape this 24 year old Ausie lefty into in the near future. Infield Rumors of a possible Josh Donaldson signing with the Twins heated up these past days. Reportedly, Minnesota is willing to offer him a four-year deal, which would be concluded at his age 37 season and would very likely hit the nine-figure price. Worthy or risky? Your call. The fact is that the competition is fierce and the Braves were seemingly given the benefit of having the final offer. So, what if the former MVP doesn’t land in the Twin Cities? A couple of options come to mind. Brent Rooker got off to a slow start in Triple-A, but ended up hitting .319/.463/.572 (1.036 OPS) over his final 41 games/177 plate appearances with Rochester. In his three seasons since being drafted out of Mississippi State in 2017, Rooker has never had a wRC+ lower than 124. Even though he’s spent his whole 2019 playing as an outfielder, he spent his 2018 playing slightly more first base. He could fill in nicely there for the Twins, especially after the official departure of C.J. Cron to the Tigers this morning. But that wouldn’t solve Minnesota’s biggest issue on the infield, which is the weak defense in the left side. While having a great season offensively, Miguel Sanó was worth -5 DRS and -6.7 UZR playing at the hot corner. Jorge Polanco, despite showing some clear signs of improvement on defense, was worth only 1 DRS and -9.1 UZR. If ultimately Sanó’s presence on third is untenable, there’s a possible solution that could be experimented. Nick Gordon was once one of the club’s most prestigious prospects. But since having a terrible start at Triple-A in 2018, when he slashed .212/.262/.283 (.544 OPS), he’s been somewhat forgotten by a number of fans. He had a tremendous bounce back year in 2019, batting .298/.342/.459 (.801 OPS) in 70 games for Rochester. He’s played only one game at third base his entire career, but calling him up could give Rocco Baldelli a lot of options, like moving Polanco to second and Luis Arráez to third, where he had his best defensive metrics this year, with 7.8 Defensive Runs Above Average (DEF) in 130 innings. Should none of the above be the way to go, Baldelli could make utility player Marwin Gonzalez the everyday third baseman and benefit from his stellar defense at the position (4 DRS, 2.6 UZR, 18.9 DEF). 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

During the final two months of the regular season, plenty of people started advocating for a trade of Eddie Rosario. He did show some regression both offensively and defensively this year. But is it really time to pull the plug on Rosie’s career as a Twin?It’s not the end of the world to consider trading him at this point. Especially because his trade value should be pretty high right now. Afterall, regardless of how disappointing it might have ended, wasn’t a bad season at all. So, it makes a lot of sense to deal him in exchange for quality pitching. But it’s a tough pill to swallow when people try to justify this deal by saying that Rose is “washed”. He isn’t. Perhaps the main reason people’s impression of Rosario was mostly negative after this season was the below average second half that he had. After slashing .282/.312/.529 (.841) and hitting 20 HR before the All-Star break, he slowed down in the second half, hitting .268/.286/.465 (.750) and 12 HR. Overall, the 2019 season was his worst season putting the ball in play, as he had his career-low BABIP, with .273. He also chased too many out of the zone pitches, with his O-Swing% reaching a career high 46.3%. His ability to draw walks, which was never very good, seemed to regress this year (3.7 BB%), as it dropped way below his career average (4.4 BB%). But that simply isn’t enough to establish Rosario as a bad hitter nor to say that he can’t contribute to the Twins success in the foreseeable future. For instance, despite regressing in the aforementioned aspects, he also showed a lot of improvement this year — maybe even more than regression. For instance, his 38.8 hard-hit rate was a career high, which undoubtedly helped him achieve career highs in HR (32) and RBI (109). His weak-contact rate was just 1.9%, a career best. Also, both his barrel (8.5%) and solid-contact (7.1%) rates were comfortably above the MLB averages. His .330 xWOBA in 2019 was both better than league average (.319) and much better than his overall career mark in that stat (.307). Another fun fact: Despite swinging at pitches outside the zone in an alarming rate this year, he did manage to strikeout the least times in his entire career. His 14.6% strikeout rate was the third best among all left fielders in the league and 13th in the entire AL. He struck out at a lower rate than Jose Altuve, Francisco Lindor, Carlos Santana and Mike Trout, to name a few. If the chase of pitches outside of the zone is what bothers you about him, here’s a list of players who also had a O-Swing% of 40 percent or more: Javier Báez, Eduardo Escobar, Rafael Devers and Nicholas Castellanos. Rosario had better contact (80.3%) and SwStr% (11.7) than every single one of them. On the other hand, Rosario had the worst year of his career defensively. Per Fangraphs, he had -6 DRS, -5.7 UZR and -11.1 DEF, which, among 24 left fielders with at least 500 innings on the field, rank 19th, 21st and 21st respectively. That’s terrible. But is it enough proof that he can’t be a good fielder anymore? Hardly. Since being called up in 2015, Rosario ranks second among left fielders with 37 assists and the fourth in putouts (893). He also ranks seventh in UZR (10.6) out of 22 left fielders with at least 2,000 innings. He isn’t nearly a great defender, but very few players at that position are. Only three had a positive Defensive Runs Above Average in the last five years. So I barely think we have reason to worry here. There’s enough reason to believe Rosario can bounce back. There’s also a lot of justifiable reasons to want to trade him this winter. But saying he’s damaged goods definitely isn’t one of them. Please share your thoughts in the comments below. Not registered? Click here to create an account. To stay up to date, follow Twins Daily on Twitter and Facebook. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Bumgarner V. Wheeler: Who Should the Twins Pursue? — Stealing Bases Isn’t Minnesota Nice – Will That Change? — Let's Find a Role for Devin Smeltzer in 2020 Click here to view the article

There is a great chance the Twins will have to completely rebuild their starting rotation for next year. Brusdar Graterol is one of the most talented in-house options Minnesota has but can he actually make the immediate leap from top prospect to a full-time member of the Twins rotation? It's possible.The young Venezuelan, who was the organization’s No. 3 prospect last year, made his much-anticipated MLB debut as a September callup. Including the postseason, he appeared in 11 MLB games, posting a 4.22 ERA out of the bullpen. He has electric stuff, and if it wasn’t for one bad outing against Cleveland, he would have had a 1.68 ERA in his first month as a major leaguer. Giving Graterol a rotation spot early would be a real shot in the dark, but it could definitely work out. One example that in particular stands out in particular is Mike Soroka of the Braves. Soroka made his MLB debut in 2018, also at age 21. He was the team's top prospect at the time. He went through Atlanta’s minor league system quickly, also taking advantage of his Canadian National Team experience. Along with their age and pedigrees, Graterol and Soroka's minor league performances are comparable. Soroka posted an ERA of 2.84, held opposing batters to a .605 OPS and averaged 8.04 K/9 in the minors. Graterol had a 2.48 ERA, held opponents to a .574 OPS and averaged 9.67 K/9. The biggest difference would be that Soroka (370 2/3) pitched a lot more innings down on the farm than Graterol (214) has. Just like Graterol, Soroka pitched very little in his first major league callup. Soroka started five games for Atlanta between two separate stints, posting a 3.51 ERA and 1.44 WHIP. He then went on to deliver an out-of-this-world 2019 season for the Braves, becoming one of the front-runners for the Rookie of the Year award. He pitched 174 2/3 innings this season, was worth 4.0 fWAR and had a 2.68 ERA. Between Double A and Triple A, Graterol pitched less than 60 innings this year. His shift to the bullpen was part of that limited innings count, but so was a shoulder injury. Odd coincidence: Soroka only 30 2/3 innings in the minors in 2018 and was also sidelined because of shoulder inflammation. These two kids are similar even when you check their pitch arsenal. According to Baseball Savant, Soroka relies on four pitches: sinker (44.6%), slider (24.3%), four seamer (18.7%) and changeup (12.4%). Those are the very same four pitches that Graterol uses, in a very similar ratio: sinker (49.3%), slider (30.6%), four seamer (18.1%) and changeup (2.1%). The key-differences are that Graterol has much greater velocity (99.0 mph on his sinker, against 92.3 mph from Soroka) and Soroka adds much more movement to his pitches (2,372 spin rate average on his pitches, against 2,045 from Graterol). For more details on Soroka’s mechanics, you can check this out. There’s very little to ensure that Graterol will have the same outcome as Soroka did, but it seems foolish to rule out the possibility that he can’t be effective in the Twins rotation immediately. Please share your thoughts in the comments below. Not registered? Click here to create an account. To stay up to date, follow Twins Daily on Twitter and Facebook. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — The Trend-Setting Twins — A Case for Signing Yasmani Grandal — What Makes Luis Arraez so Good and How Can He Repeat His Excellence in 2020? Click here to view the article

For a decade, the Twins had the best catcher in baseball. Then 2011 came and Joe Mauer was forced to move away from catching. Should the Twins consider protecting Mitch Garver from the risks that ultimately forced Mauer to switch positions?During his first three seasons as a full-time first baseman, from 2014-16, Mauer went from an MVP-caliber player to an average hitter. Most of that was due to lingering issues caused by his previous injuries, especially the repeated concussions. A lot of people thought he was done. Back in May of this year, Twins fans had a terrifying flashback of that situation, when Shohei Ohtani slid into home plate trying to score from second and hit Garver’s ankle on the base path. Garver went on to miss 16 games because of that play. That was when many Twins fans started to think about the possibility of removing Garver from behind the plate. After all, he was hitting .329/.418/.747 (1.164) with a 198 wRC+. It’s obvious that Garver himself wants to keep catching, but should the Twins try to change his mind? Increasing danger MLB catchers are constantly at risk and some people argue that the league hasn’t done much to protect them. In 2015, a study showed that almost nine out of 10 times a catcher gets injured, it’s due to a foul ball or a bat to the head. There have been rule changes regarding home plate collisions, but that doesn’t seem to be working all that well. Just this year, some catchers have suffered hard hits at home, including this gruesome crash that nearly ended Jonathan Lucroy’s season. We’re talking about human beings under constant danger and MLB should try to come up with a solution to protect all of them. Other catchers to change positions Hall of Famer Joe Torre gave up the catching after the 1970 season at age 29 after 11 full seasons behind the plate. His productivity barely changed. He won his one and only MVP award in 1971 as a full-time third baseman. Yogi Berra, another member of Cooperstown, also had a considerable drop in his playing time as a catcher. He averaged more than 572 PA per season as a catcher between 1950 and 1957. From 1958 until the end of his career in 1965, he averaged only 199 PA per season behind the plate. There are lots of other examples, which you can check here and here. How and why the Twins could do it Earlier this week, we discussed whether or not Minnesota should tender a contract to C.J. Cron. If they don’t, it’s hard to imagine a player that would be a better fit for first base. Some would argue that Miguel Sanó should be the first option, but then you would have to go after a replacement for him at third, like we discussed here. Also, in this scenario, The Twins may not need to replace Jason Castro. Having the role of primary catcher available may increase the Twins chances of resigning Castro. You would have a very good catcher who is familiar with the organization and can contribute immensely to the team in every aspect. Please share your thoughts in the comments below. Not registered? Click here to create an account. To stay up to date, follow Twins Daily on Twitter and Facebook. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Report: Twins Lose James Rowson to Marlins — Handbook Preview: Dan Hayes on Recharging the Batterymate — Miguel Sano Finally Met Expectations in 2019 Click here to view the article

Absolutely nothing worked out for the Twins in Game 2 of the ALDS in the Bronx and Minnesota got crushed by the Yankees, 8-2. The offense was completely dominated, while starting pitcher Randy Dobnak couldn’t pitch past the third inning. The Twins get closer to a negative postseason milestone.Box Score Dobnak: 2.0 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 0 K, 53.4% strikes (23 of 43 pitches) Bullpen: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 6 BB, 6 K Home Runs: None Multi-Hit Games: Garver (2-for-4, RBI), Arráez (2-for-4, RBI) Bottom 3 WPA: Duffey -.165, Dobnak -.141, Rosario -.077 Download attachment: WinChart1005.png With yet another loss to the Yankees in the postseason, Minnesota has now been defeated in its last 15 postseason games. The last time the Twins won in the playoffs was exactly fifteen years ago, Game 1 of the 2004 ALDS against the Yankees. If they can’t win Game 3 at Target Field Monday, they will match the worst playoff win drought in professional sports, now held by the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks. Between 1975 and 1979, they lost sixteen consecutive playoff games. Dobnak done after two innings I can’t even begin to understand what was going through Dobnak’s mind when he took over the mound at Yankee Stadium this afternoon. I don’t think you can get a more nerve-wrecking situation than starting a postseason game less than a year after signing you first $2,000-dollar minor league contract. Judging by his first inning, you can tell how nervous he might have been. Yankees hitters cornered him early. DJ LeMahieu and Aaron Judge, the top two men in the Yankee lineup, both reached safely to begin the game. Edwin Encarnación would later hit a one-out RBI single to left. Immediately afterwards, Dobnak induced an inning-ending ground ball double play against Giancarlo Stanton, finishing a 22-pitch effort from him in the bottom of the first. Dobnak actually had a rather smooth second inning, which he concluded with only 12 pitches, nine being strikes. Then his command started to elude him during the third inning and he loaded the bases before recording an out. Rocco Baldelli decided to pull the plug on him after only nine pitches in the inning. Bullpen can’t put out the fire Tyler Duffey took over in relief and he couldn’t get the job done. Two runs scored right away on a sac-fly by Stanton, followed by an RBI-single by Gleyber Torres. Duffey then hit Gary Sánchez after getting ahead on the count, 0-2, reloading the bases. After getting ahead 0-2 against Didi Gregorius, he gave up a grand slam. It was Gregorius' third career grand slam against Minnesota. Duffey was lifted from the game after getting two outs and was replaced by Devin Smeltzer. The rookie was also ambushed, giving up a couple of hits while allowing his inherited runner to score. That made for a seven-run inning for New York. Bats get completely dominated After hitting three home runs on seven hits on Friday night, the Twins couldn’t find the power in Game 2. Yankee starter Masahiro Tanaka held the Minnesota lineup to one hit in the first four innings he pitched. It was only after staying out during the long bottom of the third that he started to give Twins batters a chance. After Jorge Polanco flied out to start the fourth inning, Nelson Cruz drew a walk and was later scored after back-to-back singles, coming off the bats of Eddie Rosario and Mitch Garver. Tanaka and the Yankee bullpen went on to retire sixteen of the seventeen batters that stepped up to the box after Garver’s RBI. They managed to manufacture another run late in the ninth, when the same Garver hit a two-out single and was scored by a Luís Arráez RBI double. Postgame With Baldelli Pitching Staff Spreadsheet Here's a look at the pitching staff usage: Download attachment: PitchingStaff1005.png Click here to view the article

I studied at UNM exactly when Garver was playing there. I wrote about that briefly here: http://twinsdaily.com/_/minnesota-twins-news/minnesota-twins/march-madness-a-look-back-at-the-collegiate-careers-of-current-twins-r7585

Here's a great video about Garver's time at UNM.

In a rain-shortened game, the Twins didn’t have much trouble beating the Royals by 6-2 in Kansas City, opening their final series of the regular season. The AL Central champs won their fifth consecutive game and also made history tonight, as they have reached, only for the second time in club history, the 100-win mark.Box Score Berríos: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 9 K, 61.6% strikes (61 of 99 pitches) Home Runs: Sanó (34), LaMarre (2) Multi-Hit Games: Sanó (2-for-4, HR), Cruz (3-for-4, RBI), LaMarre (2-for-3, HR) Top 3 WPA: Sanó .193, Cruz .117, Berríos .100 Bottom 3 WPA: Astudillo -.063, Cron -.059, Torreyes -.056 The Twins 100th win is not only remarkable for the club itself, but even more for Rocco Baldelli. The rookie manager has now become only the seventh manager in baseball history to win at least 100 games in their first season as a manager. Baldelli is a top candidate to win the AL Manager of the Year award, two years after Paul Molitor did the same with Minnesota. With two games left, the Twins can still match the club record, held by the 1965 Twins, who won 102 games. They made it all the way to the World Season that year. Bats take care of business early Off to a great start, the Twins were able to put runs on the board very quickly. Before the Royals could record an out in the game, Minnesota’s top four batters reached on three singles and a walk. Nelson Cruz drove in his 107th RBI of the year, followed by and RBI-single by Eddie Rosario, driving in his 109th, giving the Twins a quick 2-0 lead. After the Royals put their first run on the board, it was time for the Twins top of the order to be back in the box and they did more damage. Miguel Sanó got his second hit of the night, jumping on the second pitch of his at-bat, blasting a two-run home run into the fountains. This home run gave Sanó a new career high in RBI (79), breaking his former personal record (77) of 2017. Ryan LaMarre made his contribution too. Royals starter Eric Skoglund had retired two batters, in what would have been his first scoreless inning of the night. But The Sire had other plans and took him deep with a two-run shot, making it 6-1 Twins. LaMarre’s dinger helped put an end to Skoglund’s night after only three innings. Berríos achieves personal milestone There was talk about José Berríos having his pitch count limited in this game. But that possibility vanished once he finished the fifth inning two outs away from reaching the 200-inning mark for the first time in his career. All it took him was five pitches, when he nearly induced a double play. He went on to strike out his last regular season batter and to display a lot of emotion by doing so. Berríos’ final line could have been even better, if it wasn’t for a couple of errors in the outfield, which allowed the Royals to score twice. The rain interrupted the game in the middle of the seventh inning and therefore it was suspended, giving Berríos a complete game. “La Makina” concludes his 2019 season going 14-8, with 200 1/3 innings pitched and a career best 3.68 ERA, while striking out 195 batters. Berríos became only the fourth Twins pitcher this decade to reach 200 innings in a season. Carl Pavano did it twice (2010 and 2011) and Phil Hughes (2014) and Ervin Santana (2017) each did it once. Yankees ahead in the HR count Sanó and LaMarre hit home runs numbers 302 and 303 on the year for the Twins, but the New York Yankees hit five dingers in their game against the Rangers and now have 304. Both teams still have two games to decide who will keep the record. Postgame With Baldelli Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet Click here for a review of the number of pitches thrown by each member of the bullpen over the past five days. Click here to view the article

The Twins dropped game one of the pivotal three-game series against the Cleveland Indians, 6-2 at Target Field. The loss came in heart-breaking fashion, as the Twins pitchers managed to limit Cleveland offense to only two runs in regulation, but Minnesota itself couldn’t score enough either. In extra innings, Graterol had his first big league rough outing.Box Score Pineda: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 10 K, 66.3% strikes (71 of 107 pitches) Bullpen: 5.0 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 3 K Home Runs: None Multi-Hit Games: Kepler (2-for-5), Polanco (2-for-, RBI) Top 3 WPA: Pineda .244, Littell .144, May .098 Bottom 3 WPA: Graterol -.447, Sanó -.155, Romo -.129 Pineda is lights-out again We’re barely one week into September. It’s too early to jump to any conclusions, but I don’t see why we can’t be excited by some good signs. Take the rotation, for instance. Twins starters were among the ten least productive units in all baseball during August. Now, they’re starting (OK, maybe timidly) to get back on track. Tonight’s outing from Michael Pineda was another indication of this. To provide some context, the Twins rotation was among the bottom ten worst in the league in ERA (5.48), WPA (-1.40), WHIP (1.59) and AVG (.294) last month. Coming into tonight’s game, those numbers had improved to 4.70 ERA, 0.09 WPA, 1.17 WHIP and .227 AVG. All of those numbers are going to look even better after Pineda kept the Indians’ offense on a leash, going six innings and allowing only one run on four hits, while striking out ten Cleveland batters. The only run came off a Francisco Lindor solo homer in the third. That’s definitely not a fluke for Big Mike. After a rocky start of the season in April, he’s been the Twins best starter since the start of May, posting a team-best 3.46 ERA since then. And that was true even before tonight’s game, as he had a 1.31 WPA (also a team-best) on that same period, more than twice as much as the second starter on that list (Jake Odorizzi, 0.65). Pineda has been great fuel for Minnesota’s playoff push, in the midst of chaos caused by the José Berríos struggles, the Kyle Gibson injuries and the lack of consistency from Odorizzi and Martín Pérez. Bullpen does its part in regulation This is how amazing the Twins bullpen has turned out to be in the past weeks: After their performance against the Red Sox in the three-game series in Boston, they earned even more credit, as they took care of business all by themselves in the series opener and shut down the world champions in the following two games. Tonight, they had to work under pressure, as the offense couldn’t provide them with enough run support. Sergio Romo gave up a leadoff triple in the eighth to Oscar Mercado and went on to retire all the remaining batters he faced. However, one of them, Yasiel Puig, managed to score Mercado on a sacrifice fly, which tied the game. Trevor May and Zack Littell both had scoreless innings, with Littell picking off the runner at first to help end the ninth. Quiet night from the offense leads to extras For the third consecutive game, Twins bats were held back. They couldn’t score more than a couple of runs to back up Pineda and the bullpen. C.J. Cron and Jorge Polanco each batted in a run. They weren’t able to respond after the Indians tied it in the ninth, but they threatened. LaMonte Wade Jr. drew a walk, to bring his OBP to .385, in spite of still not having a hit in the majors. Graterol can’t handle first big challenge After Cody Stashak and Lewis Thorpe alternated to pitch through the tenth inning, rookie Brusdar Graterol was handed a two-out, one man on situation in the eleventh. He faced four batters, but couldn’t retire any of them. A couple of singles from Roberto Pérez and Lindor gave the Indians a two-run lead. With Trevor Hildenberger pitching, Mercado hit a two-run single to put this one away, doubling their lead. Postgame with Baldelli Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet Click here for a review of the number of pitches thrown by each member of the bullpen over the past five days. Click here to view the article

They hit only one home run, but the Twins offense erupted to score 13 runs on 14 hits and secure their sixth consecutive win (matching a season-high), beating the Tigers 13-5. Kyle Gibson wasn’t sharp to start the game and couldn’t take advantage of the early run support, but he eventually did get back on his feet.Box Score Gibson: 5.0 IP, 10 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 69.1% strikes (74 of 107 pitches) Bullpen: 4.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 K Home Runs: Cron (23) Multi-Hit Games: Kepler (2-for-5, RBI), Polanco (3-for-4), Cruz (3-for-4, 2 RBI), Rosario (2-for-5, 3 RBI), Cron (2-for-5, HR, 3 RBI) Top 3 WPA: Polanco .125, Kepler .113, Cron .104 The Tigers put up a fight early, as Gibson got off to a slow start, but the Twins scored in four of the first five innings. Despite not being as sharp as he’s been during the first half of the season, Gibby was the winning pitcher for the second consecutive start, which happened for only the second time since June 1. August was the month he posted his worst ERA of the season, 6.11. He finished his outing on a positive note, however, retiring 11 of the last 13 men he faced. This was the eighth consecutive win for the Twins on the road, matching a club record set in 2006. At 83-51, the Twins are 32 games above .500 for the first time since September 22, 2010. That’s also the third time in the past nine years that Minnesota reached that many wins in a season. The club is now on pace to win 100 games, something that happened only one other time in Minnesota Twins history (1965, 102 wins). With the Cleveland loss in Tampa, the Twins now have a four-and-a-half game lead over the Indians, their largest since July 16. Offense bails Gibson slippery beginning Gibson was given a 4-0 lead before he took the mound. The Twins started out aggressively and hitting three straight singles after getting a leadoff walk. They had a three-run lead before the Tigers recorded an out. Nelson Cruz, Eddie Rosario and Luis Arráez each batted in a run, while Miguel Sanó reached on a fielder’s choice. Gibby allowed two runs on five hits in a 35-pitch first inning. Three of the seven batters he faced produced at-bats of at least six pitches. Fortunately, small ball kept working for the Twins, as Max Kepler doubled to bring home another leadoff walk in Jason Castro and he later scored on a Cruz sacrifice fly. Minnesota regained a four-run lead, winning 6-2 after two. But again, the Tigers gained some ground in the third. Gibson allowed three straight hits to start the inning, two of those being doubles, and Detroit scored another run. With runners on the corners, he managed to catch a break, inducing an inning-ending ground ball double play. Twins take advantage of sloppy Tiger defense Minnesota scored two more runs in the third, with a little help from the Detroit defense. The Twins loaded the bases with one out after outfielders Victor Reyes and Harold Castro got under a C.J. Cron pop up but couldn’t make the catch. That was when Ron Gardenhire pulled the plug on starter Edwin Jackson. Reliever Matt Hall couldn’t take care of the inherited runners. Jake Cave grounded out to score Arráez and Castro scored on a passed ball to make it 8-3. Meanwhile, Gibson picked up the pace a little bit and pitched his first 1-2-3 inning. To make things easier, he got more run support, as the offense slugged its way to a four-run fourth highlighted by a three-run homer from Cron to make it 12-3 Minnesota. Bullpen cools things down The Tigers responded in the bottom of the fourth inning with a solo home run from John Hicks. Gibby handed over the game to the bullpen in the sixth inning and it couldn’t have been in better hands. Coming into this game with the most fWAR in baseball in the previous seven days (0.8), the Twins relievers took care of business. Tyler Duffey and Trevor May were simply lights-out, with Duffey coming up just short of an immaculate inning (nine strikes on ten pitches). Sam Dyson allowed a solo homer to Ronny Rodriguez in the eighth inning before Sergio Romo closed the books in the ninth. Twins relievers combined for eight strikeouts, one more than the entire Tigers team. Eddie Rosario helped the cause with an RBI single in the eighth. Postgame With Baldelli Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet Click here for a review of the number of pitches thrown by each member of the bullpen over the past five days. Click here to view the article

Things are starting to heat up and the postseason is getting closer. Today, among Baseball Prospectus, Fangraphs and Baseball Reference, the lowest odds of the Twins making the playoffs is 97.8% and the lowest of them winning the division is 86.1%. So, one way or the other, only a tragedy would keep Minnesota out. With that in mind and with the September roster expansions coming up, here are four questions we should be asking ourselves, regarding the roster that they’re taking to October.First, we have to look at the Twins and figure out what are their needs and what they can do about it. At this moment, ten pitchers and ten position players (provided Byron Buxton is healthy) are considered by most as locks for the postseason. Those 20 players don't include the players below, so when the time comes for the Twins to set a final playoff roster, some very productive position players could not be included. Do you leave off Luis Arráez, Jonathan Schoop or Ehire Adrianza? To me that’s the toughest and potentially most dangerous problem to solve. Luis Arráez leads all AL rookies in batting average (.335) and is at the top five in fWAR (1.4), WPA (1.34), OPS (.836) and wRC+ (123). How can you realistically not want this guy in the playoffs? The problem is that you don’t have other very clear options. One could argue that Jonathan Schoop has a considerably lower offensive production than him, with .254 AVG, 0.9 fWAR, -1.19 WPA (dead last on the team), .769 OPS and 97 wRC+. Or that, statistically, his defense isn’t much better than that of Arráez, since the rookie has better UZR and DEF, while Schoop has produced only one DRS more than him. But that’s not even the main point here. Schoop was the clear starting second baseman acquisition in the offseason. He’s being paid good money to do so. Usually, that would mean there’s virtually zero chance he’s not part of a playoff roster. Schoop is a vital part of the “Bomba Squad” spirit. With 18 home runs on the year, he’s very likely to become the seventh or eighth Twin with 20 dingers this season. Other than the Bombas, experience counts a lot during playoffs and Schoop can provide that. Adrianza becomes the second realistic option to be excluded, which would be a huge bummer. Not because I think he’s an Eduardo Escobar-type bench player. He’s not. But he is so hard-working, so patient and has made such a good contribution to this organization in the past three years that it would be heartbreaking to see him out of the playoff roster. He did make the cut for the 2017 Wild Card team, but still, there’s no guarantee that he will be included this time. He’s also producing at the highest he’s ever produced in a Twin uniform. This season he is slashing .287/.371/.431 (.802), with a 112 wRC+. He also represents a statistically better defender than Schoop, for example, when he played second base. But the latter still holds the same upper-hand mentioned in the last paragraph. And you’re definitely not leaving out Marwin Gonzalez to include Adrianza. So tell us, reader, what would you do here in this infield puzzle? But before you make a decision here, let me say that in the next paragraph you may find a solution, if you feel like all three deserve to make the roster. But it’s not any easier. Do you leave off Jake Cave and use Gonzalez as the fourth outfielder? When Buxton is back, the Twins will have four primary outfielders, with Jake Cave being on the bench. Now, if the Twins want, they can keep extra infielder by deploying Gonzalez as their fourth outfielder, when necessary. The question here is: do you exclude Cave on their behalf? Cave has already done a pretty good job when he was called to fill in for Buxton lass season. But this year? Hoo, boy. Fine, his overall numbers in 2019 are not extremely better than 2018, but he's currently having an out-of-the-earth month of August. Since being recalled on Aug. 3, he’s slashing .442/.500/.767 (1.267) with a 232 wRC+ and a .696 BABIP. He leads the Twins in all those metrics this month, except SLG, OPS and wRC+, losing to Nelson Cruz in them by very little. So, what would you do here? As much as we might like Adrianza and as well as Arráez might be playing offensively, how can you turn your back on this? Granted, Cave’s numbers could very well come down to earth after a whole month of September, which would make this decision much easier. If they don’t, what a tough decision to make. However, let’s not forget that when we talk about Cave, we’re talking about a much smaller sample size. So far, he’s got only 148 plate appearances, against 205 from Adrianza and 249 from Arráez. What do you do with Willians Astudillo? Since coming back from his oblique strain injury, “La Tortuga” is slashing .368/.368/.421 (.789) in four Triple-A games and .353/.421/.765 (1.186) in five Double-A games, striking out only once overall. If he comes back and maintain that level, do you have a spot for him on your postseason roster? Over who? Personally, I can’t see it happening and I can’t see anyone I would choose him over. But you never know what’s going to happen. Which pitchers make the postseason staff? Assuming that all the position players questions are answered when October comes. There are 10 pitchers who are considered locked in for a playoff spot: José Berríos, Michael Pineda, Jake Odorizzi and Kyle Gibson as starters. Martín Pérez, Tyler Duffey, Trevor May, Sam Dyson, Sergio Romo and Taylor Rogers as relievers. You need to add two or three more. Who do you have? Here are four names. 1. Zack Littell What a great job this kid has been doing this year. He had one bad outing in late May, in which he gave up eight of his ten earned runs in the year. So, if you removed that one outing, you find out that he would have a 0.87 ERA the whole year. Granted, he’s pitched only 25 innings this season, but that’s still impressive. Since June 18, when he got called up for the second time, he’s posting a 0.96 ERA, which is good for the fifth best in baseball. I was honestly very confused when he was the chosen one to be optioned last week. Can he handle high leverage situations in the postseason? I wouldn’t want to test that -- although in the very few moments (three and one third innings) he’s been put under pressure, he hasn’t allowed a single run and has held opposing batters to a ridiculous .091/.167/.091 slash line. 2. Trevor Hildenberger Hildy had an amazing start to the year, followed by a horrendous month of May, which resulted in him being sent down. Then, he started dealing with injuries and was sidelined for nearly two months. Now, he’s back and, apparently, he’s back to his old self. Before the start of May, Hildenberger was one of the team’s best relievers, posting a 1.92 ERA. Now, since coming back from injury, he’s pitched five games (seven innings) and is posting a 1.28 ERA, while striking out nine batters per nine and with a 7.03 K/BB ratio. He’s had some serious ups and downs in his short major league career, which can make us a bit suspicious, but he’s definitely earned the right to be looked at in September. 3. Devin Smeltzer Smeltzer didn’t shy away when he got his chance. He impressed everyone when he shutout the Yankees for five innings of relief in late July, so you can tell the kid is ready for the big stage. As a reliever this year, he has a 3.38 ERA for the Twins. In medium or high leverage situations, that goes down to 3.09. But that’s not even his spot. Along with Pérez, he could be the best option if a starter can’t get deep into a game and you need a long man. Besides, you absolutely need another lefty over there. 4. Brusdar Graterol The organization’s top pitching prospect doesn’t even need introductions. You can read a more in depth analysis of him in two of our latest articles, one by Jeremy Nygaard here and one by Andrew Thares here, as well as our daily Minor League reports. He’s pitched 59 innings in three different minor league levels this year and is holding opponent batters to a .180 AVG, striking out 8.84 times per nine. His ERA this year is 1.53 overall and 0.00 in 8 1/3 innings of relief. It would be a longshot if he actually made the playoff team after a callup in September. But, who knows? Other callups that are going to be looked at during September and maybe could earn a spot include Ryne Harper, Jorge Alcala, Randy Dobnak, Fernando Romero and Kohl Stewart. Harper was a regular on the Twins bullpen all year, but got out of track lately. He should get another chance, because he’s shown good stuff before. So who is on your final roster? Click here to view the article