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Twins Daily

Research Project wRC+

Being a Twins fan, and a statistics major, there are always connections to be made between on the field performance and statistics for a player. This has never been more available as statcast has allowed for measuring exit velocities, launch angles, and many other statistics for both pitchers and hitters. I wanted to look into which of these statistics has the greatest influence on Weighted Runs Created Plus. This is an offensive statistic which tries to credit each hit and situation for its tru

Could Jose Be This Good?

The Minnesota Twins have played fewer games than anyone in Major League Baseball thus far in the 2018 season. With weather cancellations and scheduled off days, Paul Molitor's club has almost been off the field for as long as they've been on it. Of the 11 games they have played however, Jose Berrios has pitched in three of them. While it's too early to draw any substantial conclusions, if the immediate returns are any indication, the bar as to just how good the Puerto Rican can be has been raise

Kernels: "Lot of Guys Doing Some Really Good Things"

The Cedar Rapids Kernels hit the frozen ground running this season, jumping off to a 6-0 record before finally suffering their first loss of the year on Friday night against Clinton. http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Sammons0413e-600x400.jpg Bryan Sammons delivers a pitch Friday, April 13, against Clinton (Photo: SD Buhr)   Don’t say the start surprised their manager, Toby Gardenhire, though. With a lineup as full of highly regarded prospects as this Kernels roster is,

The other guy always looks better than your own

The other guy is always better than what you have – right? Well that is the thought that dominates the off-season and so we are sad that we did not sign Yu Darvish (actually if you saw my posts you know I did not want him). Since we had an article looking at the first ten days and projecting the season I thought it might be good to see what we missed.   Yu Darvish just had a memorable melt down over a balk, but even more exciting are his statistics during a stretch that was supposed to be the

The white league and their records

My last blog chronicled the movement of black baseball players into major league baseball from Jackie Robinson in 1947 to the Red Sox finally adding a black player in 1958. As I said then, if we question the impact of steroids on our baseball records we should also look at how the exclusion of the black ballplayer impacted the records between 1989 and 1958. If one deserves an asterisk, the other requires a new said of record standards. I understand that baseball evolves – we had the hitless er

Ben Rortvedt: the catcher of the future

After struggling his previous two seasons in the Minnesota Twins organization, Rortvedt is on fire to start 2018. He is finally coming into his own and becoming the catcher many thought he would become when drafted in the second round out of high school in 2016. After two subpar years, the great Tom Froemming and I were still high really high on Rortvedt. Still only 20, he has plenty of room for growth, and has the opportunity to be an All-Star catcher in the big leagues.   Rortvedt was more kno

Kepler Committing Even if He's Not All In

Over the offseason and into spring training, plenty of discussions were had with Max Kepler in regards to his approach. Media covering the Twins probed, and I'd imagine that hitting coach James Rowson continued to challenge the young German. After failing to take a big step forward in 2017, it continues to seem like there's so much more potential left in there. Through the early part of 2018 however, it seems that Kepler has made a few tweaks, and given his comments, they may come as somewhat of

Cold Shoulder to Land On

The day after Wednesday - which is the day I publish my evaluation of Twins baseball FROM BEYOND THE EXPERIENCE OF NORMAL BASEBALL MINDS - an epic, significant omen occured. Many have already rushed to offer insight upon this experience, which is a GRAVE MISTAKE! Only the knowledge of a professional supernatural baseball blogger should be considered in situations such as these.   Now, unfortunately, I have no knowledge to add to this experience, but I will continue to type and pontificate anyway

Mauer Appears to Have Found it Again

Through eight games in the 2018 Major League Baseball season the Minnesota Twins have played to a .500 record. Having had to deal with blistering cold, and even some snow, it's hardly felt like a true baseball season. If there's one thing that has felt warm and fuzzy however, it's been the look and output of first basemen Joe Mauer. In 2017, Mauer returned to the land of .300 batting averages for the first time since 2013. He posted an .801 OPS bolstered by a .384 OBP all while looking the part

T&L Supershow ep. 59

Brand new Supershow!   This week Dan, Panda, and Stubby J talk about the start of the MLB season, and making healthy lifestyle choices! Check out the show using the link below, or get it from iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, and Pocket Casts!   https://www.spreaker.com/user/the4dpodcastnetwork/twins-and-losses-supershow-episode-59-it

The long journey of Black Players into MLB

I am always interested in the back stories – some of which are not typical baseball anecdotes. Each year now we celebrate #42 – in fact most of you reading this have already identified Jackie Robinson from his number and we can look at his Hall of Fame plaque and celebrate his strength of character as well as his baseball prowess. And there is no doubt his ten-year career is Hall Worthy. He averaged 6.1 WAR with a peak of 9.7 despite the hate and abuse he endured daily. His career average wa

The Kinley Conundrum is Coming for Twins

Thus far in 2018, the Minnesota Twins have played seven baseball games. They've had to deal with frigid temperatures, some snow, and even a postponement in the early going. What they have yet to need due to the circumstances, is a fifth starter. That leash could soon be coming to an end however, and Rule 5 draft pick Tyler Kinley could be caught up in the heart of the shuffle.   Through the seven games, Minnesota has won three times by at least four runs, and they were beaten recently by the Sea

How Does Royce Lewis Compare to Previous #1 Picks

In 2017, Royce Lewis was a standout player on and off the field. Last year he hit .279/.360/.407 with the Gulf Coast League Twins and the Cedar Rapid Kernels. His exceptional skills made me wonder. How does he stack up against previous #1 draft picks out of High School?   There is no doubt that Ken Griffey Jr. was the best #1 pick out of High School. However, what about players like Carlos Correa, Mickey Moniak, Joe Mauer, Chipper Jones, and Josh Hamilton?   Royce Lewis (54 games) - .279/.360/.4

Branch Rickey's Mind

https://www.loc.gov/item/prn-18-036/?loclr=eanotw The library of Congress has given us a historical gift - the scouting reports of Branch Rickey. He was a vital part of baseball history, even beyond signing Jackie Robinson and this is where you can check it out.   Here are some notes from the introduction and entries that struck me: Rickey’s 1963 scouting report on Hank Aaron, who broke Babe Ruth’s long-standing home run record of 714 in 1974. Rickey wrote "Surely one of the greatest hitters

2018 WAR for Byron Buxton

For the Minnesota Twins 2017 was a year that surpassed the expectations of most fans. The team made the playoffs, and the manager kept his job (though we finally got rid of Neil Allen). One of the most encouraging features of the 2017 season was Byron Buxton's performance, which netted him a career high 3.5 Wins Above Replacement, placing him 11th among center fielders in 2017.   Buxton took a huge step forward in 2017 and we're all hoping for more in 2018. These hopes got me wondering, what

7 Times 15 Only Equals 28 Once

Imagine the Universe, swirling mysteriously across untold aeons and dimensions. Within this maelstrom, how can one isolate the force that is Mauer Power? How far does it extend? Is it more polite than other Universal forces, like Hulkamania?   My goals may be lofty in this Universe, and yet I am COMPELLED to write yet another column about Mauer and the home runs. This Question of the Ages is a perennial classic for the local sports media. For most of them, it seems Mauer Power did not increase t

Kernels Media Night Highlights

The tarp covering the infield in Cedar Rapids was wet from a mix of rain and snow flurries over the past couple of days, but fortunately the only "work" that this year's Cedar Rapids Kernels had to do on Tuesday was do a meet and greet with fans on the concourse and, for a select few, survive a brief media inquisition. http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/DSC_0075-2-1-600x358.jpg L to R: pitching coach Cibney Bello, manager Toby Gardenhire, hitting coach Brian Dinkelman, p

Twins Stars Being Attacked Similarly

Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton are arguably the Twins most notable young stars. On offense, they provide value in different ways, but Paul Molitor's hope is to get a high level of production out of each of them. So early into the 2018 Major League Baseball season, there's not much to be said about the sample sizes or returns. One thing appears certain though, opposing pitchers are attacking the Minnesota duo in a similar fashion.   Through their first four games, Sano and Buxton have seemed to be

Digesting the Twins Early Success

Through the first weekend of the 2018 Major League Baseball season, the Twins have experience both heartache and jubilation. From a walkoff loss to a pair of dominating wins, the emotions have run the gambit. While not trying to analyze everything from such a small sample on a granular level, there's been a few things that have stuck out across the first trio of games.   Having now just left Baltimore and embarked on Pittsburgh, everything Minnesota has accomplished thus far has come in the same

No pressure

First Jake Odorizzi pitches six innings of shutout baseball in the opening game.   Then Kyle Gibson pitches six innings of shutout and hitless baseball – arguably a step above Odorizzi..   Yesterday, Jose Berrios pitches nine innings of three-hit, one walk, six strikeout baseball - even better than Gibson..   Today, Starter Lance Lynn pitches at noon, central time. No pressure though.   You think!?!

William Tecumseh Sherman

As we carefully analyze each game of the new season and try to read the tea leaves on each swing of the bat I thought I would provide just a little change of pace and look at another story from baseball history.     While Civil War general Abner Doubleday is mythologically given the title of the founder of the game of baseball, a myth that has been refuted by nearly every scholar, we should look at baseball and an even more famous General – William Tecumseh Sherman. In his biography by James Le

A Chat With Trey Cabbage

For the Minnesota Twins 4th round pick in the 2015 Amateur Draft, they selected Trey Cabbage. Since Trey was drafted, he has been hitting .229/.305/.325 for the GCL Twins, Elizabethton Twins, and the Cedar Rapids Kernels. I had a chance to speak to Trey via. Instagram.   Me: What has been your favorite memory in the Twins organization?   Trey: Obviously draft day was surreal, but not one thing sticks out. The camaraderie and just the time spend and the grind you have with your boys and teammates

Twins Infield Projections for 2018

The Twins infield depth took a real hit when it was announced that Jorge Polanco would have to serve an 80-game suspension for testing positive for PEDs. As it stands, every Twins infielder on the Twins 40-man roster is also on the 25-man roster.   Again, for these projections I used PECOTA (via Baseball Prospectus), along with ZiPS and Steamer (via Fangraphs) to group with with my personal projections for each player in the Twins infield.   Jason Castro, C   It’s hard to find a player that ha

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