Search the Community

A few bad breaks on the bump and a dry spell at the plate plagued the Twins in a 5-0 loss to the Mariners on Tuesday night in Seattle. Here's what you need to know about game two of the series. Box Score SP: Joe Ryan: 4.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 3 K (75 pitches, 45 strikes (60%)) Home Runs: None Bottom 3 WPA: Joe Ryan (-0.181), Max Kepler (-0.176), Luis Arraez (-0.071) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Making his first start since May 21, Joe Ryan hoped to mow down the Mariners in a late-night game on the west coast. A pair of middle-inning mistakes and lack of run support stopped that from happening. The Twins managed a meager four hits and were 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position in a shutout loss to Seattle in Ryan's return. Ryan had moments of brilliance early on and was far from bad, but paid for a pair of poor pitches in the fourth and fifth innings. After 3 1/3 scoreless innings, the Mariners were able to get to Ryan. Following a double by Julio Rodriguez, Eugenio Suarez launched a 3-1 pitch over the left-field wall to put the Mariners up 2-0. Just an inning later, Ty France put a ball over the left-field wall to double Seattle's lead and end Ryan's night. All in all, Ryan's night was not as bad as the final score may indicate. The star rookie did an excellent job pounding the zone throughout the night, pitching to contact with an occasional strikeout. His only major blunders came on a few poor pitches in the fourth, ultimately leading to the Mariners' first four runs. Despite his velocity being down, expect Joe Cool to come back hot in his next outing as he eases his way back into the rotation as the team's ace. Trevor Megill was rock solid in relief, pitching 1 1/3 scoreless innings with a walk and a strikeout. It's his second consecutive scoreless appearance and Megill has only allowed two runs through four outings in the month of June. Jovani Moran followed Megill in the bullpen and pitched two innings of one-run ball with two strikeouts and a walk. After struggling to find the zone in the seventh Moran locked in and pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning. Celestino Hits on Anniversary Despite the loss, center-fielder Gilberto Celestino tallied a multi-hit game on the one-year anniversary of his first MLB home run (which he hit off Mariners pitcher Marco Gonzales at T-Mobile Park). Celestino punched singles in the third and sixth innings and is now hitting .333 on the season. For a fourth outfielder that sees a fair amount of action due to Byron Buxton's frequency at DH, the 23-year-old has gone above and behind. Carlos Correa also notched a multi-hit game, singling in the fourth and sixth inning. Correa has hit safely in all six games that he's played in June and is now hitting .309 on the season. What’s Next? The Twins square off against the Mariners in the series finale tomorrow afternoon at 3:10 pm CST. After returning from the IL, Sonny Gray (3-1, 2.41 ERA) will make his first start since May 29, squaring off against LHP Marco Gonzales (3-6, 3.63 ERA). Postgame Interview Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet View full article

Just hours after pitching in a win against the Tampa Bay Rays, the Minnesota Twins designated starting pitcher Chi Chi Gonzales for assignment. 48 hours later the Milwaukee Brewers selected the veteran righty's contract. Here's why the Twins made the move and why the 30-year-old could be valuable for the ballclub on the other side of the river. After just two Major League starts in a Minnesota Twins uniform, veteran pitcher Chi Chi González is out the door and headed to The Badger State to pitch for the Milwaukee Brewers. Just minutes after his June 11 start against the Rays, the Twins designated González for assignment. Just two days later, the struggling Brewers signed Gonzalez off of waivers and elevated the right-handed pitcher to the 40-man roster. Gonzalez's tenure in the Twins organization was short, and at times, sweet. Signed to a minor-league contract in March, González pitched eight games for Triple-A St. Paul (five starts) along with two starting pitching appearances for the Twins. There were moments of brilliance for González in St. Paul, finishing his Saints tenure with a 2-2 record and 3.44 ERA with 35 strikeouts in 36 2/3 innings. Starting the season in the bullpen, González notched both his wins as a long-distance reliever in April with solid appearances against Louisville (4 2/3 innings) and Indianapolis (3 innings). From there he started five games for the Saints, highlighted by a six-inning, no-hit shutout with seven strikeouts and four walks against Columbus on May 11. First called up on June 3 due to a myriad of injuries at the parent club, González tossed three innings of three-run, four-hit ball against the Blue Jays en route to a 9-3 Twins win. Called up under similar circumstances last week, González pitched four innings against the Rays on Friday, giving up three runs on eight hits while striking out three. Minnesota won the game 6-5 and Trevor Megill earned the win for the Twins. So that is correct, the Twins were 2-0 in games started by Chi Chi Gonzalez. The Twins did win both games (against talented opponents) in the pair of games that González started. However, it was not solely because of him. González tabbed a -0.18 WPA (Win Probability Added) in his most recent start and -0.15 WPA in his Twins debut against the Blue Jays; not great. The brutal reality is that there is no space for González on a semi-healthy Minnesota Twins roster. Given his experience, González served as an adequate filler for a starting rotation that has struggled with injuries to five of its six starting pitchers. Yet with Joe Ryan and Sonny Gray back on the bump, the filler role has been eliminated and González's minor league numbers aren't consistent enough to create a need for the Twins. Consider the roster crunch that's about to happen. Last week, the Twins DFAd Gonzalez and Juan Minaya. A day after adding Elliot Soto to the 40-man roster, he was DFAd to add Joe Ryan back to the roster. Someone will have to be optioned or DFAd to bring Sonny Gray off of the Injured List on Wednesday. The life of the journeyman is certainly not always easy. Yet when one door closes, another may open. The Brewers are 2-8 in their last ten games and starting pitchers Brandon Woodruff and Freddy Peralta are on the Injured List along with a number of relievers. With experience as a starting pitcher as well as a reliever, González could serve as a valuable patch for a Milwaukee club that is in a tight battle with St. Louis for top dog in the NL Central. Noted as a great person and clubhouse guy, hopefully, this new opportunity presents González the chance to find his groove in a cutthroat industry that is less than forgiving. View full article

It is no secret that the Twins' bullpen options are not all trustworthy, as we saw Sunday and Tuesday with Tyler Duffey. Could Trevor Megill be one reliever that the Twins could use in bigger situations and become more comfortable using? The Twins’ bullpen has been better than average this year. As a collective unit, they rank seventh in MLB in bullpen WPA with 1.55 wins added. However, Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, and Joe Smith have combined for 3.06 wins added. The rest of the Twins’ bullpen has been worth -1.51 wins. This is primarily due to Tyler Duffey, who has a WPA of -1.32, which is fifth-worst among all major league relievers in 2022. In the major leagues, you can’t just throw the same three bullpen arms every night, so the Twins need to find another bullpen arm that they could use in high leverage situations. Enter Trevor Megill. Megill, who the Twins signed on a minor league deal right before the lockout, has been good in limited innings this year in the bullpen. In ten and ⅔ innings, Megill has only allowed three earned runs on eight hits and four walks. He has struck out 13 hitters, seven with the fastball and six with the curveball. Megill has some of the best stuff on the Twins, and there is data to back that up. Megill’s fastball averages 97.1 miles per hour, which places him in the 95th percentile of all major league pitchers. His fastball also has incredible spin, as his fastball spin rate is 2424 revolutions per minute, which places him in the 91st percentile of all pitchers. Using Pitch Profiler, a tool created by Jeremy Maschino, you can view any major league pitcher and various statistics about their pitch mix. One important metric that many people are starting to use to evaluate a pitcher’s repertoire is Stuff+. Stuff+ gives a pitcher a rating of how good a pitcher’s repertoire is compared to the rest of the league. This rating is based on a variety of things such as pitch velocity, vertical break, horizontal break, arm angle, and release extension. Megill has a Stuff+ rating of 108, putting him in the 78th percentile of all major league pitchers. The average Stuff+ rating is 100, which means Megill’s stuff is eight percent better than the league average. Using Maschino’s tool, Megill’s stuff+ rating on his fastball is 108, meaning he has an above league average fastball in terms of velocity and movement. Megill’s curveball is also an outstanding pitch. According to Baseball Savant, Megill’s curveball has seven more inches of vertical movement than the league average curveball does, good for tenth among all major league pitchers who have thrown at least 50 curveballs. According to Pitch Profiler, Megill’s curveball has a 107 stuff+ rating, which means he has two pitches above league average. A pitcher’s stuff can only take him so far. A pitcher can have good stuff and fail to get outs. Take former Twin Brusdar Graterol, who has a stuff+ rating of 116, in the 95th percentile of all pitchers. His sinker is 99.9 miles per hour, second among all pitchers. However, this doesn’t lead to success, as Graterol has a 4.81 ERA and 3.84 FIP. In Megill’s limited opportunities, he has allowed only three runs in ten and ⅔ innings for an ERA of 2.53, as I noted earlier. Sometimes a pitcher’s success in small samples can be due to luck, but not with Megill. This year, his expected ERA is 2.04, which is the fourteenth-best in the league among pitchers who have allowed at least 25 balls in play. On his fastball, Megill has allowed an expected opponent batting average of .153, which is the best on the Twins. On the curveball, he has allowed a minuscule expected batting average of .196. Between having well above league-average stuff and producing very well in the opportunities he has been given, Trevor Megill should be given more opportunities in high leverage situations here soon, especially as the Twins start to play a more challenging schedule. What other relievers should be given big innings down the stretch? How do you feel about Trevor Megill? Leave a comment or any other questions you may have below, and feel free to start a discussion. Thank you for reading, and Go Twins! View full article

For the second consecutive night, the Twins’ offense was utterly dominated by Detroit pitching. Tigers starter Tarik Skubal pitched a gem, with seven shutout innings, while Bailey Ober had a rough fifth inning, basically putting the game out of reach. Minnesota has its first series loss in three weeks. Box Score Starting Pitcher: Bailey Ober, 6.0 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 0 BB, 4 K (86 pitches, 65 strikes, 75.6%) Home Runs: none Bottom 3 WPA: Bailey Ober (-.173), Trevor Larnach (-.108), José Miranda (-.062) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) In the nightcap of Tuesday’s doubleheader, Minnesota’s offense was a no-show, making up for one of the team’s worst offensive displays of the season. Outside of Trevor Larnach, who hit a double and drew a walk, nothing worked for the Twins lineup, who got only three hits off Tigers pitching. Sadly, things didn’t look a lot different to start tonight’s game. Lefty Tarik Skubal dominated the Twins' offense, tossing five scoreless frames in which he gave up only two hits and a walk. One of the hits and the walk both came in the first inning before he went on to retire nine consecutive Minnesota batters, comprising a couple of 1-2-3 innings. The fifth inning was a divisive moment in this game, as until that point, Bailey Ober was having himself a very solid start and was giving the Twins a real chance to snatch the lead. He did have a shaky first inning, in which he gave up three hits, including a leadoff double. However, he did a fine job preventing Detroit from scoring more than a run. The Tiger lineup went 1-for-11 against Ober starting at the final out of the first and only had a one-run lead to start the fifth. That’s when things went downhill for the Twins’ righty. Detroit scored four runs on five hits in the inning, three of which were extra-base hits – a Jeimer Candelario leadoff triple and back-to-back RBI doubles by Harold Castro and Jonathan Schoop. Weirdly enough, Ober’s outing wasn’t a nightmare, despite the rough fifth innings. Through six innings of work, he threw 20 out of 26 first-pitch strikes and threw 75.6% strikes. Skubal continued to obliterate Twins hitting, now with tons of run support. After giving up a single to Gio Urshela in the fourth, he faced the minimum for the remainder of the game, retiring ten in a row to complete seven shutout innings. Trevor Megill threw two scoreless innings in relief of Ober, but the offense was still ineffective, even after Skubal left the game. Joe Jiménez retired the side on eleven pitches in the eighth, including two strikeouts, making it 13 consecutive Minnesota batters retired. Will Vest had no trouble closing out the game in the ninth, despite allowing a couple of runners to reach. What’s Next? The Twins remain in Detroit, where they close out the five-game series tomorrow, with the first pitch scheduled for 12:10 pm CDT. Minnesota brings Chris Archer (4.19 ERA) to the mound to duel righty Alex Faedo (3.00 ERA). Then, they head to Toronto, where they start a three-game series against the Blue Jays on Friday. Postgame interview Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet SAT SUN MON TUE WED TOT Minaya 31 0 0 26 0 57 Megill 0 0 34 0 20 54 Jax 0 20 0 33 0 53 Moran 34 0 0 12 0 46 Thielbar 0 22 0 11 0 33 Duffey 20 0 0 0 0 20 Smith 0 0 16 0 0 16 Pagán 0 12 0 0 0 12 Duran 0 0 0 0 0 0 View full article

The Minnesota Twins lost to the Tigers 5-0 but one silver lining was that Trevor Megill continued to impress out of the bullpen. Down in the minors, Jair Camargo hit two home runs for Wichita. He was just recently called up to Double A. Also featured in tonight's video are Tim Beckham, Alex Isola, Sawyer Gipson-Long, Yunior Severino, Alerick Soularie, Kyler Fedko and more. View full video

Eight total pitches were needed and the Royals presented a threat until late in the ninth inning, but the Twins held on to win the game behind a great offensive performance. Gary Sánchez and Gio Urshela, both with three hits, were two of the six Minnesota batters with a multi-hit game. Box Score Starting Pitcher: Bailey Ober, 3.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K (61 pitches, 38 strikes, 62.2%) Home Runs: Jorge Polanco (5), Carlos Correa (3) Top 3 WPA: Trevor Megill (.298), Jorge Polanco (.181), Gio Urshela (.163) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Two important players made returns tonight. Since being activated from the injured list on May 21, Bailey Ober made his first start at Target Field, his first home start since April 28. Also, Jorge Polanco was back on the starting lineup after missing the last three games with some soreness in his right ankle. The latter was instrumental for the Twins’ early offensive outburst. After Ober delivered a scoreless top of the first, Minnesota put together a four-run performance in the home half. After a leadoff single by Luis Arráez, Polanco smashed a one-out, two-run home run to deep right, making it 2-0 Twins. This was Polanco’s first extra-base hit since May 13, his fifth homer of the season. That Arráez’s single drove his batting average to .352, which, according to Bally Sports North, is the second-highest average through May among any Twins infielder since 1983. The Twins scored two more runs in that same inning, with four consecutive Minnesota batters reaching safely with two outs. Gary Sánchez grounded to center, and Trevor Larnach drew a walk, allowing Gio Urshela to drive in his old Yankee buddy and send Larnach to third. Next, Nick Gordon singled to left to bring Larnach home. The inning could’ve been even better for Minnesota, for Ryan Jeffers drew a walk next, loading the bases for Arráez, but he struck out. Minnesota’s two-out productivity at the plate continued in the second inning. Although they couldn’t add on any more runs, the Twins loaded the bases with two outs again with a Max Kepler single, another Sánchez single, and a Larnach walk. This is the first time this season in which Sánchez has back-to-back multi-hit games. The Royals end Ober’s night, tie the game After pitching two scoreless innings on 30 pitches, including a 1-2-3 second, Ober struggled in the third, and his start was cut short. After striking out Emmanuel Rivera on three pitches to open the inning, he gave up back-to-back singles to Nicky Lopez and Whit Merrifield. He got the second out by striking out Andrew Benintendi but then saw Bobby Witt Jr. triple and Hunter Dozier single to score three runs. It took Ober 31 pitches to conclude the third, and he was done at only 61 total pitches. Another player returning from injury, Danny Coulombe, who was activated today, took over to pitch the fourth, making his first big-league appearance since May 10. Unfortunately for him, he also struggled, allowing the first three batters he faced to reach and the Royals to tie the game on a Lopez RBI single. Before being removed from the game, he retired only one batter, giving up two hits and two walks. Trevor Megill came in and induced an inning-ending double play on one pitch. Things could’ve been worse for the Twins in the fourth if it wasn’t for a pretty defensive play by Urshela. With one out and men on the corners, he caught a bullet from Merrifield for a lineout that would’ve scored Rivera from third and given the Royals the lead if it had been a base hit. Twins get back on top; bullpen, despite not being brilliant, shuts the door Minnesota didn’t take long to respond. Carlos Correa jumped on the first pitch he saw to hit a leadoff home run in the bottom of the fourth, making it 5-4 Twins. The offense got some momentum off the Correa home run and followed it with a couple more hits, both singles. Larnach hit a sac-fly deep enough to score Polanco from third, giving the Twins a two-run lead. Both bullpens settled down and shut down the opposing offenses for the next couple of innings. Hats off to Megill, who took over for the struggling Coulombe in the fourth and pitched two more scoreless frames before handing the ball over to Joe Smith in the seventh. On the other hand, Smith didn’t have the best of outings. Failing to throw strikes, he couldn’t even finish an entire inning, which included a leadoff home run to Witt Jr. that brought the Royals within one. After that, he walked a couple of batters, something incredibly rare this season. Before tonight’s game, he had given up two total walks the entire season (17 appearances). Caleb Thielbar came in to get the inning’s final out. Jhoan Duran didn’t have a brilliant outing either, throwing less than 53% strikes and giving up a single and a walk, but he managed to close out the top of the eighth after a mound visit. To be fair, the home plate umpire took a called third strike away from him that maybe extended the inning more than it should. A one-run lead would be too dangerous for a group of relievers that has been struggling in high-leverage situations of late, so the offense once again came through and broke the game wide open. Facing reliever Joel Payamps, the bats scored four more runs in the bottom of the eighth, to provide some insurance. Kepler tripled to deep center in what could just as easily have been an inside-the-park home run, had the Royal defense not been quick enough. Payamps intentionally walked Larnach, and Urshela hit an RBI single next, scoring Kepler. Gordon hit a bases-clearing double to score Larnach and Urshela and scored himself on an Arráez two-out single moments later. A 10-5 lead should be more than enough for Yennier Cano to close out the game with no worries. However, he gave up a solo home run to M.J. Melendez, then a two-out RBI double to Rivera. Suddenly, the Twins’ lead was down to three and Rocco Baldelli didn’t want to risk it. Emilio Pagán was brought in to get the final out, in a save situation. He struck out Lopez on three pitches. What’s Next? Tomorrow at 1:10 pm CDT both teams will be back on the field for game 3. Chris Archer (3.86 ERA) takes on the mound for the Twins facing Brady Singer (1.83 ERA). Postgame Interview Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet MON TUE WED THU FRI TOT Jax 33 0 23 0 0 56 Pagán 28 0 21 0 3 52 Duffey 0 12 0 31 0 43 Coulombe 0 15 0 0 24 39 Smith 17 0 3 0 18 38 Megill 0 0 8 0 26 34 Thielbar 3 0 30 0 1 34 Duran 0 14 0 0 19 33 Cano 0 0 0 16 17 33 View full article

The Minnesota Twins broke out the bats and flashed some leather, beating the Royals 10-7 Friday night. Trevor Megill delivered a much-needed boost out of the bullpen, stranding all three of the runners he inherited and pitching 2 2/3 shutout innings. Gio Urshela was one of several Twins to have a big night both at the plate and in the field. Also included in tonight’s highlights are Marco Raya, Matt Canterino, Royce Lewis, Jermaine Palacios, Keoni Cavaco, Austin Martin and more. View full video

Minnesota got a solid start from Dylan Bundy, who pitched into the sixth. But lack of productivity from the offense and a shaky display by the bullpen cost the Twins the game and ended their winning streak. Box Score Starting Pitcher: Dylan Bundy, 5.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K (85 pitches, 63 strikes, 74.1%) Home Runs: Trevor Larnach (1) Bottom 3 WPA: Trevor Megill (-.315), Gary Sánchez (-.265), Max Kepler (-.222) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Dylan Bundy and Rony García pitched really well to begin this game, shutting out both offenses for three innings. Making his second start since being reinstated from the injured list, Bundy gave up three hits in those three innings, but he had excellent command and never pitched himself into jams. The Twins caught a break in the third inning when Derek Hill tried to score from third on a pitch that got away from Gary Sánchez. Home plate umpire Charlie Ramos called him out and the Tigers challenged the play, but it was upheld. Was the tag really applied? The first runs of the game came in the bottom of the fourth inning. García was on a roll, having retired six Twins in a row. Then, Sánchez drew a walk against him and that came back to haunt García. On the next at-bat, Trevor Larnach obliterated a four-seamer, crushing it for a two-run home run, his first of the season. With such a mammoth shot, Larnach continues to feast on fastballs. Coming into this game, ha was slugging .459 against fastballs, with also a .500 xSLG, per Statcast. This home run came off his bat at 112.4 MPH, his hardest-hit ball of the season. Bundy, now with some run support, continued his solid effort, pitching into the sixth inning. He gave up a leadoff single in the fifth but went on to strike out the next three batters on 11 pitches. Returning for the sixth, he gave up a leadoff home run to Harold Castro, bringing the Tigers within one run. If it wasn’t for a fielding error that allowed Javier Báez to reach, Bundy would likely finish another inning and possibly complete a quality start, but after striking out Jeimer Candelario for his second punchout of the inning, Rocco Baldelli decided to bring take him out of the game at 85 pitches. After a couple of rough starts before hitting the IL, Bundy has given up one run through 8 2/3 innings since rejoining the team. A shaky bullpen allows Detroit to tie the game After Larnach’s home run in the fourth, the Twins offense went 2-for-13, failing to provide the bullpen some insurance runs. Griffin Jax and Joe Smith kept the shutout going until the end of the seventh, but then Emilio Pagán gave up a leadoff home run to the same Castro in the eighth, tying the game at 2-2. With a hit and a walk given up today, Pagán has now allowed hitters to reach safely against him in 11 of his last 12 outings. His season WHIP now sits at 1.47, a career-worst for him, despite the excellent 2.30 season ERA thus far, a career-best. Should we be at all worried about him? Caleb Thielbar came flew pitch the top of the ninth and he also struggled, despite facing the bottom of the Tiger lineup. After retiring the leadoff hitter, he allowed the next three batters to reach on a single and a couple of walks, loading the bases. Detroit brought in Miguel Cabrera to pinch-hit for Castro, but Thielbar caught a break when a ball four was called a strikeout for the second out of the inning. It was up for the cold offense to avoid extra innings and secure the sweep. Sánchez flied out to lead off the ninth, making it eight straight Twins retired in a row, but then things nearly shifted the Twins' way. Kyle Garlick, pinch-hitting for Larnach, got hit by a pitch and then reached third on a Nick Gordon two-out single. But Minnesota couldn’t capitalize, as Gilberto Celestino grounded out and the game headed for extras. Detroit snatches the lead in the 10th, Twins rally falls short Trevor Megill took the mound to pitch the 10th inning, with former Twin Jonathan Schoop as the ghost runner at second. After striking out Báez to lead off the inning, Megill hung a four-seamer in the heart of the plate, which got crushed by Candelario for a two-run homer. Celestino was inches away from robbing him of the dinger. But the Twins weren’t done. Hitless for his previous 23 at-bats, Byron Buxton reached safely for the first time in three games on a throwing error by shortstop Willi Castro. Luis Arráez followed that with a liner to center, loading the bases with no outs for Minnesota’s batters three, four, and five. Michael Fulmer struck out Carlos Correa, then A.J. Hinch brought in lefty Andrew Chafin to try and get the final two outs. He did so on eight pitches, striking out Max Kepler and getting Sánchez to pop out. What’s Next? The Twins remain home, where they start a four-game series tomorrow against the Kansas City Royals. The first game is scheduled for tomorrow at 6:40 pm CDT, and, up until now, Minnesota’s starting pitcher is still to be determined. The Royals will have lefty Daniel Lynch (4.01 ERA) on the mound. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet SAT SUN MON TUE WED TOT Jax 0 0 33 0 23 56 Thielbar 18 0 3 0 30 51 Pagán 0 0 28 0 21 49 Smith 21 0 17 0 3 41 Megill 0 31 0 0 8 39 Cano 0 38 0 0 0 38 Duran 0 17 0 14 0 31 Duffey 0 14 0 12 0 26 Stashak 18 0 0 0 0 18 View full article

Many fans of the Minnesota Twins were confused last week when the team claimed reliever Trevor Megill off of waivers from the Chicago Cubs only for them to non-tender him hours later. However, clarity for the decision came this past Sunday when SKOR North’s Darren Wolfson reported that Megill had re-signed with the team on a minor league deal. Megill and all 6-foot-8-inches, 250 pounds of him made his major league debut for the Chicago Cubs this past summer, where he appeared in 28 games out of the bullpen. He owns a four-pitch mix, but primarily relies on his four-seam fastball, which can touch 100 mph, and curveball. The fastball has the raw attributes to be an above average pitch, ranking in the 88th percentile in spin rate and possessing good carry; however, big league opponents mashed it for five home runs and three doubles in 71 plate appearances. (It should be noted, though, that Megill likely suffered from a small sample size and a touch of bad luck. The fireballer allowed seven home runs in 23 ⅔ innings, five of which came at Wrigley Field. According to Baseball Savant, had he pitched the majority of his innings at Target Field, he would have only surrendered two. His 24.1% HR/FB ratio at the MLB level was the second largest of his career by far, trailing only the 26.7% rate he posted in 20 innings at Low-A in 2015.) However, the pitch that likely caught the Twins front office’s eye the most is, you guessed it, his slider. Megill threw his slider only 44 times last summer (26 times to right-handed batters and 18 to lefties), but did so with great success. Nine of his 30 strikeouts came via the slider — it had an absurd, and unsustainable, 56.5% Whiff% — with opponents posting an xSLG of .273. Based on previous evidence provided from their approach with other pitchers, it would not be surprising to see the Twins’ pitching staff adjust Megill’s pitch mix by upping the usage of his slider and cutting down on his fastball and curve. (Of note: The pitching staff is allowed to communicate and work with Megill directly as minor league players are not covered by the now-expired CBA. This would not have been the case had they not non-tendered him and kept him on the 40-man roster.) Much like the signing of fellow minor league bullpen arm Jake Faria, the acquisition of Megill is representative of the front office’s approach to filling out their bullpen. Megill has one pitch that could be elite (the slider) and some statistical evidence suggesting that he’s better than what his performance to date suggests. However, what potentially separates Megill from Faria is his high velocity fastball in combination with a positive track record in the minor leagues. (Megill consistently posted K-BB% rates above 22% while in the San Diego Padres and Cubs’ systems.) Megill is unlikely to be the savior of the Twins’ bullpen woes, but he is an intriguing arm that is more than worth a flier, particularly on a minor league deal. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook, or email — Read more from Lucas here View full article

The Twins announced that they have claimed right-handed relief pitcher Trevor Megill. In news that will make too many Twins fans happy, outfielder Jake Cave has been outrighted to St. Paul. Later, the Twins announced that Megill had be non-tendered off of the 40-man roster. Dustin Morse tweeted that the Twins have claimed 27-year-old right-handed pitcher Trevor Megill off of waivers from the Cubs. To make room on the 40-man roster, outfielder Jake Cave was outrighted to St. Paul. Megill turns 28 next week. In 2021, he pitched in 28 games for the Cubs. He went 1-2 with an 8.37 ERA in 23 2/3 innings. He walked eight and struck out 30 batters. Megill stands 6-8 and 250 pounds. He was originally drafted by the Padres in the seventh-round of the 2015 draft out of Loyola Marymount. A year earlier, the Padres drafted him in the third round but he didn't sign. He was the Cubs Rule 5 pick in December of 2019. He didn't pitch at all in 2020. Megill is blessed with a 96.4 mph average fastball. He also throws a slider in the mid-80s and a curveball in the low-80s. His two breaking balls were each thrown about 16-18% of the time. It wouldn't be surprising if Wes Johnson worked with him and got him to eliminate one of the breaking balls and use the other a lot. The other half of the transaction should relieve some Twins fans angst. Last week, the Twins signed Cave to a non-guaranteed contract. Today, he was removed from the 40-man roster, went unclaimed and was outrighted to St. Paul. According to Darren Wolfson, he had a split contract in which he would make $800,000 in the big leagues and $300,000 at Triple-A. Over his first two seasons with the Twins (2018-19), he played in 163 games and hit .262/.329/.466 (.795) with 27 doubles, four triples, 21 homers and 70 RBI. Unfortunately over the past two seasons, he has played in 118 games and hit .202/.263/.332 (.595) with nine doubles, three triples and seven home runs. UPDATE - Trevor Megill was non-tendered by the Twins on Tuesday night. However, according to Kiley McDaniel, there is a once-a-year loophole that makes it make a little bit more sense. Feel free to share your thoughts on Megill or Cave. View full article