Minnesota Twins Talk

Just read an interesting article by Mike Berardino on Jeremy Hefner, Twins director on video scouting. You can read it here. http://www.twincities.com/2017/05/25/twins-new-scouting-role-making-an-impact-on-the-field/. After reading it I have two thoughts. 1). He has been able to simplify the data available so that it's easily useable for the players. And 2). It appears that the Twins have made giant strides in using data to help the team. This is alll encouraging and I think this is has a significant impact on the team's performance. What say you?

Check out this cool article at MLB trade rumors https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2017/05/tommy-john-sucks-but-maybe-not-as-much-as-you-think.html

Things we've all talked about but still a good read - Is Ervin Santana's early season success all luck? Keri the 10: Break up the Twins, Fantasy baseball advice and more MLB observations

I did power rankings for the current active roster: http://zonecoverage.com/2017/twins/minnesota-twins-25-man-power-rankings-version-1-o/ As always, thoughtful discussion is appreciated!

The Twins are +4. Is this concerning or not? The other first place teams: Yankees: +56 Astros: +56 Nationals: +52 Cubs: +22 Rockies: +34 The Indians have a +12

We need someone to start next Saturday. Who ya got? Adam Wilk (Twins) Justin Haley (Twins) or Kyle Gibson (Red Wings) Alberto Meija (Red Wings) Aaron Slegers (Red Wings) Nick Tepesch (Red Wings)

There has been a marked improvement in Sano's performance this year. Not only is it better, it seems to be much more consistent than in his first two years. There could be a lot of reasons including that he came into camp in a little bit better shape and the fact that no one was suggesting he play in right field. Also, of course, he's in his 3rd year in the bigs. Right now he's batting for average, hitting the ball hard, demoing tons of power and hitting very well with runners in scoring position. But we cosistantly hear how he cannot maintain the high batting average and that he will certainly "revert to the norm". My question is "Why?" Is there a reason to b…

Time to start the Eddie Esckie watch. Unless they really need two utility infielders, Adrianza looks like the #1 option. Escobar has made a great contribution in previous years. It's time to cut him loose. Nick Gordon may be here in September..

I just read that the Twins are one of three teams that have not been shut out so far in 2017. I took a look to see how many times they were shut out at this point last year; three times. That wasn't particularly stunning. But being reminded how truly terrible they were last year was. May 13, 2016 Twins Record - 8-26 May 13, 2017 Twins Record - 18-14 The 2016 Twins didn't win 18 games until June 8, and were 18-40. I hope that can brighten everyone's day just a little bit.

With Sano having an absolute monster season, I feel like Maximillian Kepler is flying under the radar a bit. This kid is having a hell of a season so far. He has an .830 OPS and is playing above average corner outfield and passable center. His only weakness at the moment is hitting lefties but watching his at-bats the last few weeks he's actually looked pretty comfortable up there against southpaws; he just hasn't gotten the results yet. He doesn't strike out a whole lot, draws walks, and can steal a base every now and then. It's early but he's also 7th(!!!!) among hitters in the entire American League in WAR, trailing only Trout, Judge, Dickerson, Sano, Gardner …

Shoulder issues Uh oh

When Molly pinch hit for Vargas in the 7th, I immediately spoke up and noted that although he was Playing the Percentages vs. the lefty- the skiPPer had now forfeited a potential chance for Vargas vs. Hererra in the 9th. I like Escobar, but certainly not as a pinch hitter or designated hitter- in what world does a utility player double as the team's catch-all strategic pinch hitter and part-time DH? Especially considering what Vargas had just done in the previous game. Seriously, since it seems that the manager doesn't think much of Vargas's potential to contribute to the team, they may as well move on from Kennys and bring up Park or Polka on Monday.

Seems like he has been out of the lineup for awhile?? Switch hitting big guy would look nice right behind Sano on a more regular basis?

Phil Hughes has been throwing batting practice this season. What should Falvine do about it?

Anthony Castrovince, who I believe used to be an MLB.com beat writer for Cleveland and now writes nationally (I believe), wrote about what improvements the Twins have made since last year. Since there haven't been a lot of player changes, he was curious. It sounds like the improved catching situation along with much better analytical information and scouting reports are also helping out the pitchers. There is a lot of good information in here, quotes from Neil Allen about more of the differences. http://m.twins.mlb.com/news/article/230443054/twins-relying-on-improved-pitching-analytics/ (Fixed URL)

BA just released their updated top 100 prospect list. The Twins landed just 1 player, Nick Gordon, way down at 47. I know that there are lots of prospect lists and that being a top 100 prospect isn't everything. However, the Twins have been picking near the top of the draft for 4 of the last 5 years. How could we have possibly missed this many times in a row? I'm not just talking about 1st round picks, but also on those sandwich picks and 2nd and 3rd rounders - they were also taken early in the draft. I want to be excited about this year's start and the future of the team, but for a team that's supposed to be built around home grown talent, the minor league system is pr…

Yeah, this kid is a stud. Looks like a solid #2 guy thus far, he keeps up what he did tonight? we might have ourselves the first legit front of the rotation SP since Liriano and santana. Sano=stud Buxton, starting to come apround. Kepler, polanco, Vargas, Dozier, Castro: solid role players. Berrios and Santana: solid 1-2 punch it's looking like. To do list: -Fix the bullpen -get a true #3 type starter to help stabilize the rotation a bit. Get it done new regime!

Well, today was a good old fashioned let's play two tomorrow rain out. When that happens, I tend to find myself watching the previous game's highlights over and over. And so, today I watched Kennys Vargas hit a game tying two run blast several times. More than several. Maybe a dozen. I watched the pitch and the swing, I watched Vargas admire it for a moment, and I watched the fan in the upper deck try to jump(?) for it. And then, I started paying attention to Torii Hunter, who uttered a phrase as Vargas approached third base that it took me a while to place. First, Torii: http://m.mlb.com/video/v1406670983/kcmin-vargas-launches-a-gametying-tworun-homer/?query=vargas …

I think they shortchanged the Twins in this article. http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/19409515/the-bullpen-revolution-not-televised 1.) Brandon Kintzler has been used for a 4 out save twice this year. That’s more than most teams in the majors and is especially bold because Kintzler is not that good. 2.) Tyler Duffey, though in the starting conversation in spring training, has been used in a very Andrew Miller-esque role this season. Past Twins teams would have used him as a long man when starters get beat up but Duffey has not entered a game where the Twins trailed by more than 2 and has only twice pitched in a game the Twins were up by 4 or more runs – he’s been us…

Joe Mauer and Brian Dozier were on MLB Network on Thursday morning. They were talking about Hope Week. They discussed the 2017 season. Mauer was asked about his walkoff. They talked about music in the clubhouse. Brian Dozier's hair was mentioned. Fun stuff! http://m.mlb.com/video/topic/7417714/v1400857183/mauer-dozier-join-mlb-central-to-discuss-twins/?query=MLB%2BCentral

Today the article is about a possible change in hitting approach. http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-twins-are-now-hitting-with-more-of-a-clue/

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/byron-buxton-is-slowing-down-in-the-good-way/ A full article on Buxton. Travis has been a great addition to Fangraphs.

Gimenez is just brutal at the plate... wow

http://www.twincities.com/2017/05/14/get-a-grip-twins-pitchers-say-of-online-accusations-about-jose-berrios-and-his-cap/ Parker Hageman, co-founder of popular fans website Twins Daily, raised the issue with a series of Twitter posts on Saturday evening. “Whenever he got a new ball from the umpire, he touched the bill of his hat in a weird way,” Hageman wrote as a lead-in to a video clip of Berrios’ mound habits. In succeeding posts, Hageman suggested a dark spot farther back on the pink-billed cap may have contained something unusual and said a Berrios family member tweeted him that the pitcher has “dealt with accusations since childhood.” Not a good look IMO,…

Michael Baumann from The Ringer wrote an article with a fun title... Twins Fans, it's ok to freak out over Jose Berrios. There are lots of charts and graphs. https://theringer.com/mlb-minnesota-twins-jose-berrios-starting-pitcher-prospect-2db8fed8254c

Keith Law posted his annual Top 25 under 25 rankings... Two Twins players made the list. http://insider.espn.com/blog/keith-law/insider/post?id=7090 (subscription required) Byron Buxton came in at #8, and Miguel Sano ranked 21st.

Wrote a Jose Berrios feature in which I preach caution. As always, thoughtful discussion appreciated: https://t.co/Io8hMGXN82

Hopefully that is the LAST we will ever we gibson in a Twins uniform. Goes down as another bust in a long list of Twins first round busts. Berrios time!!!

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/a-more-selective-miguel-sano-is-crushing-it/ Travis lives in CLE, I believe, so when the Twins are there, we should get some good articles!

So there are a couple of things worth noting that I like from the new regime compared to the old... DFA'ing struggling players: Perception: They've been pretty aggressive cutting players that they don't see a future for on the team. So far it's been D Santana, Tonkin, and another player or 2 that's not coming to mind. The old FO did their fair share of DFA'ing players as well around this time of year - Fien, Stauffer, Schafer, etc. The big difference is TR kept out-of-options fringe players like D Santana around all season long instead of cutting bait. Using Off-Days and Rainouts to their advantage: Perception: The new FO loves to use off-days to keep a 4 man …