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Twins Pitch Breakdown

A blog by Secondary User in Twins Daily

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About this blog

A nightly (usually) breakdown of Twins starting pitching

Entries in this blog

Nolasco 9/22

http://i.imgur.com/7DNhJ0y.jpg   Though he didn't exactly cruise through the first four innings, Nolsasco had put up zeros through 4 innings before getting tagged for 5 and not escaping the 5th. Control was down, swinging strikes hovered right around 9% again, but .588 average on balls in play is never a good sign.

May 9/20

http://i.imgur.com/u6zu9aq.jpg   After his best start in the majors earlier this week, May struggled this trip through the rotation. He gave up 8 hits, 2 walks and 7ER through 4.2. As the numbers show, he struggled with his command just scratching over 60% strikes thrown. Swinging strike rates were nothing to write home about, but not bad, particularly on his change up.   This is where it gets interesting. Over Trevor May's first 6 starts, his 4 seam fastball velocity averaged 91.7mph, which see

Hughes 9/19

http://i.imgur.com/u6zu9aq.jpg   A couple days late, as I was traveling, but here are the numbers on Hughes' start this Friday against the Indians. Cleveland was not fooled, swinging and missing only twice, and putting up 10 hits against Hughes through 7 innings. He didn't walk anyone, so a 1.429 WHIP on a night where Hughes didn't have his best stuff isn't horrible. He kept his team in the game and the Twins were able to get him off the hook and eventually get a win.   The command is one th

Gibson 9/17

http://i.imgur.com/ClHrTds.jpg   Rough start to the game, followed by a few solid innings and a huge gift from Torii Hunter by not running home on a ground ball with the infield back, leading to a double play to get Gibson out of a jam.   Wasn't sharp tonight though, as he only threw 61% of his pitches for strikes. He was particularly bad with his slider command. You could tell that early on, Detroit just wasn't offering at it. He threw the slider 11 times in his 26 pitch first inning. 7 tim

Nolasco 9/16

http://i.imgur.com/QkdrT0E.jpg   My write up is going to be very brief. Spent all night in the ER with a child and just don't have the drive to write a lot about this. It was a great outing. 5H and 1BB against a very potent Detroit line up. Again, hovered right around 65% strikes. Swinging strikes were at an expected 9.2% (Detroit's season average is 9.3%). Very little hard contact was made. Had hitters off balance. I particularly love the Curveball/Slider mix.

May 9/14

http://i.imgur.com/wNmXavJ.jpg   If you just looked at the ball and strike totals on this graph, you'd probably think that I had accidentally posted a graph for Phil Hughes in the wrong article. But low and behold, with reports of Phil imparting some words of wisdom to the young hurler, Trevor May came out and put together probably his best outing of his short major league career.   With the exception of a four hitter stretch in the 4th, May was very impressive. He gave up 5 hits, walked zero,

Hughes 9/13

http://i.imgur.com/Bj0y0pZ.jpg   Another quality start, but who knows who things may have changed had Mauer not booted the ball early in the game which lead to the two run home run. Hughes' control was working as usual, though he did walk his first batter in 140 innings in the second. Many were surprised that it occurred against a team like the White Sox who walk so rarely (24th of 30 with a 6.9% BB%), but I figure it's a matter of Phil knowing the White Sox are aggressive, so he has to work the

Nolasco 9/11

http://i.imgur.com/jZp6Vma.jpg   This is the type of appearance Twins fans hoped they were getting when he joined the club this year. An innings eater who can go deep into a game and keep you competitive. With 117 pitches, he reached a career high and the most he's thrown in a game since 2012.   At 61.5% strike rate, it'd be incorrect to say he pounded the strike zone, but that really isn't his profile. However, he didn't walk any body, and the only big mistake he made was a splitter to Carlo

Gibson 9/11

http://i.imgur.com/7Cz3DBi.jpg   Part one of the twin billing didn't go as hoped. Gibson looked lack luster, and Cleveland took advantage to the tune of 7H, 7ER, 2BB 0Ks and 2HR in only 3IP. He only threw 57% of his pitches for strikes and only one swing and miss. His changeup was particularly futile. It fooled no one, getting not a single swinging strike, and was put into play 10 times, on only 14 pitches! In fact, the only time it ended up a strike was if someone offered at it (10 BiP and

May 9/9

http://i.imgur.com/IioT54T.jpg   Is it just me, or does Trevor May rely to heavily on his fastball? Maybe it is because he does use the fastball so heavily, but he always seems to get great swinging strike rates on his off speed offerings, and that trend continued tonight.   Four walks in 5 innings is still a lot, but he did a good job of working out of trouble tonight, something that he had struggled with earlier.   Another thing of note is that his average fastball velocity has gone up over a

Hughes 9/6

http://i.imgur.com/wr12NTM.jpg   Hughes continues to show incredible control, and the most amazing thing about tonight's performance is that of his 12 swinging strikes he induced, 10 of them came on his 4 seam fastball. Good miss rates, good strike out totals, and he pitched the entire 7th inning using only four seam fastballs (10 pitchees, 8 strikes, and 2 strike outs).   A shame he couldn't get the win. Sorry the last two write ups were so brief. Posting at 3:45 will lead to that. Feel fre

Nolasco 9/5

http://i.imgur.com/fWS5pCP.jpg   Sorry it's a day late, but it's going to be a dollar short. Long weekend, results in this being put up at 3:30am.   Control was a little spotty, good swing and miss numbers. 8 hits, 2 ER against a decent LAA offense. Some bad defense really hurt him, particularly the Arcia error which not only led to a run, but also led to an extra 14 pitches being thrown that inning. Worked out of trouble a lot, but then again, was in trouble.   After seeing an initial spike

Gibson 9/4

http://i.imgur.com/bsmdmBx.jpg   Low Swinging Strike percentage, 7 hits, 2 walks and 1 K. I don't think Gibson had his best stuff tonight, but he still managed 7 innings, and despite one big inning kept his team in the game. His command was not impressive, throwing only 63% of his pitches for strikes. Exacerbating that was his struggles on the first pitch of at bats. He fell behind 11 of the 28 batters he faced, and only got ahead on 12 of them (8 called strikes and 4 foul balls). He gave up

May 9/3

http://i.imgur.com/Xiw0AIe.jpg   Going to make this quick. A lot of four seam fastballs, and a lot less change ups. His Swinging Strike rates were down as a result, but he still picked up 6 Ks in 5 innings. He did walk one, and that walk came in to score on a 2 run homerun after he left a change up in the middle of the plate and Viciedo was waiting on it. His control did slip a little bit in the last couple innings. He got strike one on 15 out of 20 batters who didn't put the ball in play o

Milone 9/2

http://i.imgur.com/33FOlc8.jpg   Control. It comes down to control. Before 2012, Tommy Milone's BB/9 had always been below the 1.71 that he posted in his first full season in the majors with the exception of one season at A+ ball in 2009. He pitched to a 13-10 record that year, a 3.74 ERA, and a 2.8 WAR that was indiciative of a solid mid to back end of the rotation arm. He even was seeing some decent K/9 numbers for a guy who throws as soft as he does (6.5 K/9). In 2013, his BB/9 jumped to

Hughes 9/1

http://i.imgur.com/X2mm606.jpg   8 innings with three unearned runs on one swing of the bat in the 7th were the only blemish for Phil in today's game. He hung a cutter to Nick Hundley two batters after Plouffe air-mailed a double play grounder into right field. Hughes only tallied 5 strike outs over his 8 innings, but once again, didn't walk a batter and only gave up 5 hits.   S for the peripherals, good control numbers, as he surpassed the 70% strike numbers. Foul balls were also down from prev

Nolasco 8/31

http://i.imgur.com/7VklLWt.jpg   I'm torn on how I feel about this outing. On the one hand, Nolasco didn't seem to have great command throughout the day. He gave up 12 hits, 2 BBs, only 2Ks and two home runs. He seemed to be working in trouble most the day, but outside of the third inning, he was able to get out of it. Baltimore is a very potent offense that will make you pay dearly for mistakes, and the 3 big home runs that accounted for 8 of Baltimore's 12 runs are evidence of that.   I qu

May 8/29

http://i.imgur.com/RVCERK5.jpg   Seemed like May was cruising through three, then a 2 hits, a hit batter and walk later and that's the game. From a numbers stand point, May's control was meh.....61% strikes. Got a lot of swinging strikes on his Change up and 4 seam, and a 16.7 Swinging Strike rate is nothing to shake a stick at, even for Baltimore (10.6% on the year). 8Ks in 4.2. Trying to list some positives as we see another disappointing outing....

Gibson 8/30

http://i.imgur.com/qwgDMJC.jpg   Sorry about the delay. Newborn child doing wonders for a consistent sleep schedule and free time :\. Command was sub par (59.3%), particularly with his 4 seam. Got good swing and strike rates, especially on his slider, and even his 2 seam, but wasn't efficient. Can't complain too much about 4 hits over 5 innings, Though three walks does put his WHIP at 1.4. Not terrible, but you'd like better. One earned run against a potent Baltimore line up does make it easier

Milone 8/28

http://i.imgur.com/2UicW5y.jpg   According to the GameDay PitchF/x, Milone really changed up his offerings this time around. He didn't mix in his curveball until the later innings (didn't throw it until the 4th inning). According to PitchF/x, he threw a cutter, and threw it quite a bit (19 offerings), and it worked very well. While his command of his 4 seam was off (though some people I spoke to thought that the zone was getting pinched; any input into that would be greatly appreciated), his cut

Hughes 8/27

http://i.imgur.com/GR7ItWI.jpg   Same story, different night. A pitcher's duel that saw the Twins scratch a lone run across in the top of the 7th only to see the Royals score in their last at bat (last night the 9th, tonight the 8th) to snatch a victory away.   Hughes pitched a marvelous game. He commanded of all his pitches, throwing only 20 balls all night and not walking a batter. He was efficient, entering the 8th having only thrown 70 pitches, before a couple of soft base hits, a stolen bas

Nolasco 8/26

http://i.imgur.com/aOQ2S3b.jpg   Well that turned quickly. Four pitches into the ninth and what looked like it could be a win on a night where he pitched fantasticly turned into a no decision.   But since this is about the starting pitching let's focus on that fantastic part. Nolasco gave up 3 hits, 1 walk, 2 hit by pitch and had six strike outs over 7 innings on 97 pitches. With the exception of the two HBP, his command was strong. Both HBP were on Billy Butler, a man who clogs the base pat

Gibson 8/24

http://i.imgur.com/pNFEC5L.jpg?1   Gibson's start was really highlighted by some shaky command. He got a lot of swinging strikes (12.6%), but he seemed to be working from behind in the count often. His 2 seam command in particular really seemed to get the better of him. While his slider did do a good job of getting swinging strikes, it was put into play often and with fair success (4 hits on 6 balls in play). He did end the game with 5 strike outs in under 5 innings, which puts him above a 9

May 8/23

http://i.imgur.com/s5JhYDc.jpg   This was a mixed bag start for May. For the first time since coming up, he didn't walk a man, but he also gave up 11 hits in 5.1 innings. He leaned much more heavily on his curveball than he did in previous outings (9 in his previous outing, 24 this time through), and it had very good results. He got a good swing strike rate on the curve, as well as 8 balls put into play and only 2 hits. On the other hand, the Tigers racked up 9 hits on 13 balls put into play

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