Minnesota Twins Talk

As one of Rosario's most vocal critics I never had any idea I'd be writing this. Then I did some homework: http://zonecoverage.com/2017/twins/2017-minnesota-twins-breakout-candidate-eddie-rosario/ As always, critiques and discussion are welcomed!

In our second issue of Twins Daily's Write Of Spring Newsletter, Nick Nelson talks about the Twins bullpen battle for left-handed relievers. Let's talk about it in this thread. This issue is being sent out at 11:45 PM the night of 3/13/2017. If you missed it, sign up over on the right to make sure you don't miss the next issue.

Nice article about Rosario's arm: http://m.mlb.com/cutfour/2017/03/14/219393980/eddie-rosario-jump-started-the-puerto-rico-dr-game-with-a-cannon-throw-to-home-plate I did not realize that Rosario's arm was so elite.

C70 is a Cardinals blog. Each year for the past decade, they have asked myself and other Twins bloggers to answer 5-6 Twins-related question for their site. They do the same with the other teams as well. Yesterday, he posted this year's Twins Pepper and asked myself, Cody, Thrylos and others for their answers. Check it out here: http://www.cardsconclave.com/2017/03/14/playing-pepper-2017-minnesota-twins/

I actually think one of these 2 will lead off.

Typically I don't see detailed analytics articles on this website. And on this website, I mean Deadspin. Ironically it's about Craig Breslow using SCIENCE! to re-invent his throwing motion. I haven't read all of it, and probably won't, but that doesn't mean you can't! "How Craig Breslow Used Science To Engineer His Way Back Into Baseball"

I saw in a notes section (Strib) that Molitor said barring some significant change his starters are Santana, Hughes, Gibson and Santiago. Berrios, May, et al will battle for the 5th spot. This shocked me that he would say something like this so early. How can he be so comfortable saying this after last year? In my book Santana is a lock and the rest can battle it out with no guarantees.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2017/03/trevor-may-diagnosed-with-torn-ulnar-collateral-ligament.html

When Minnesota Twins outfielder Max Kepler breaks down his swing, the description veers away from the game’s growing infatuation of making contact under the ball. “I try and stay on top, get the bat head to stay through the zone as long as possible,” Kepler described. “Whenever I’m in doubt, I try to hit long ground balls to level my swing back out. I’m the complete opposite of what I hear people saying now days.” What are people saying now days? The increasing cage wisdom is to lift the ball, get underneath the pitch, elevate and celebrate, right? Shouldn’t he be working on getting that ball up and out of the park? Asked about that, Kepler just shakes his head.…

Feb 6 Make no doubt about it, there are Twins players and prospects starting their respective seasons. Didn’t see a bullpen session, but Phil Hughes, Michael Tonkin were doing some tossing in an outfield before going into the weight room. There was an infield exercise that many of the position players participated then there was a batting practice made up of about three groups of four batters before most of the players heading into the weight room to finish out their day. Could pick out players like Mitch Garver, Travis Harrison and Lamonte Wade, but perhaps a little surprising was Byungho Park participating as if he has every intension of being part of the Minnesota grou…

Last September, Miguel Sano made a subtle but noticeable change in his stance: He lowered his hands to shoulder level. You can see the differences in the side-by-side video below: https://twitter.com/ParkerHageman/status/834119010061017088 The rational behind it seemed obvious, Sano was trying to get from his starting point to the ball in a quicker fashion. By starting his bat and hands at the lower point, he would no longer have to bring them down from his head level to the shoulder level and then fire. The overall purpose, of course, is to make more contact. Last week in camp, I asked Twins manager Paul Molitor if he or his coaching staff had any influence on that…

For less than you'd pay for a latte at your local barista, you can now watch actual Major League Baseball at Target Field. The Twins announced they're selling a $99 Spring Ballpark Pass that allows standing room admission to every Twins home game in April and May, excluding the opener. Wow. As a consumer, I should be happy at the prospect of such a bargain, but it actually saddened me to read this. I felt like I caught a glimpse of the girl who was prom queen back in high school now hustling drinks from patrons in a bar downtown. You felt sad for her and embarrassed for her and didn't want to make eye contact. The Twins are essentially at the same place, giving it away …

In our first ever issue of Twins Daily's Write Of Spring Newsletter, Parker Hageman dives into what the Twins have (and have not) done to change how they develop pitching. Let's talk about it in this thread. This issue is being sent out at 11:45 PM the night of 3/6/2017. If you missed it, sign up over on the right to make sure you don't miss the next issue.

I can't seem to find it right now, but I think it was on these very boards within the last day or two. But it was speculated that since the Twins are the reigning worst-record holder, we would have first dibs on certain players left off of opening day rosters at the end of Spring Training. The example given was that the Twins had put in a claim on JD Martinez in 2014 (I believe) after Spring Training, but ultimately the deal didn't happen. A- Can somebody speak to this system that I can't seem to find nor put into words? What is it? How does it work? B- Also, what intriguing players are around the league that are currently bubble MLB players who may fall to the Tw…

http://www.twincities.com/2017/03/04/top-of-batting-order-remains-a-riddle-for-minnesota-twins/ Mike Berardino wrote an interesting article. He talked to Brian Dozier and Joe Mauer, asking them about where they would ideally fit into a Twins lineup. I find this article rather interesting. Berardino clearly is writing with the intent of encouraging a lineup that Jack Goin's projections might say scores the most runs. But the quotes from both Mauer and Dozier seem to have old school written all over them. Mauer talks about being able to see things. Dozier talked about the little things and the science of scoring runs. Berardino ends the article with quotes and…

Below you will find a tweet showing the Bovada projections for each team. It shows an over-under for the Twins at 74 1/2. For me, that's a pretty good over-under as I have kind of said they would win 73-77 games this year, and this is right in the middle of that. So, what do you think? Is it a good over-under? And then go to the Twitter poll and place your vote. https://twitter.com/SethTweets/status/836619981232156676 https://twitter.com/TNT_Mariners/status/836618900842278913

He's played in 3 of the 4 games so far and has blasted 2 Park Bangs and a slew of hits. Sure seems like the Twins are giving him every opportunity to show he belongs and he's doing everything he can to prove it. I read somewhere that he had mentioned that he'd spent the offseason preparing for the MLB fastball. Maybe someone with a trained eye can watch his at-bats and determine if that's true or not. At this rate however, I can see him going north with the team if Vargas doesn't do some seriously heavy lifting to cement his role, as it's been nothing but the Park Show so far. I also believe he plays a better, more athletic first base than Vargas and his RH swing cou…

http://mcfeely.areavoices.com/2017/03/06/new-twins-baseball-chief-falvey-dozier-other-trade-offers-didnt-get-over-the-bar/ Mike McFeely of am970 radio in Fargo had the chance to chat with Twins CBO Derek Falvey before today's game against the Cardinals. He transcribed the interview and posted it on his Area Voiced blog. There are a lot of great questions about a variety of topics. He asked about Brian Dozier, Joe Mauer, coaching, analytics, the offseason and much, much more. Check it out. Anything stand out? Here's one of many questions and responses:

Looks like the Twins concessions vendor, Delaware North, is having more job fairs. Just got this press release: Additional job fairs scheduled for Target Field Delaware North looking to fill 300 seasonal, part-time positions for 2017 season BUFFALO, NY and MINNEAPOLIS, MN (March 6, 2017) – Delaware North Sportservice, the food and beverage partner of Major League Baseball’s Minnesota Twins, today announced it will host additional job fairs for part-time, seasonal positions at Target Field for the Twins’ upcoming 2017 season. The job fairs will be held at Target Field, Summit Academy and at the Sabathani Community Center in the coming weeks, a full schedule is below.…

http://www.startribune.com/twins-shouldn-t-disregard-danny-santana-the-shortstop/414561533/ Patrick Reusse wrote an article making a case for Danny Santana to compete for the shortstop job. He isn't pretending that it is a great option, but while Santana and Molitor contend that he's more valuable to the team if he's able to play six positions, Reusse things the 26-year-old could still develop.

http://www.startribune.com/owner-jim-pohlad-lays-it-out-twins-have-to-win-more-games/415406504/ Sid Hartman chatted with Twins owner Jim Pohlad weeks ago about his team. They discussed the front office, Joe Mauer, business stuff and much more. Check out the link, and see what he has to say.

Is anyone else baffled by the fact that Ervin Santana's name never came up once this week in trade rumors? Lets look at the reasons why Santana should have a lot of value in the trade market: Very weak Free Agent Starting Pitcher market: Would you rather have Rich Hill (The top FA starting pitcher) at age 37, for 3 years, $48 million or Ervin Santana at age 34 for 3 years, $41 million (Last year is a team option. Santana would be off the books at the latest by age 36. I would choose Santana, and AT WORST it would be a coinflip. A contract that looks better and better: Santana is very affordable at 2 years, $27 million over the next two seasons with a $14 million team op…

http://www.twincities.com/2017/03/03/minnesota-twins-wearing-bracelet-to-honor-late-pitcher-yorman-landa/ Mike Berardino writes about several topics including: Twins minor leaguers will be wearing a bracelet in honor of Yorman Landa. Several in MLB camp are as well. The Twins have found a few ways to honor him.Pat Neshek wrote about Terry Ryan joining the Phillies since they acquired him from Houston. Neshek also acknowledged that the Twins offered him 2 years and $10 million following the 2014 season. He signed with Houston for 3 years at a little over $18 million and mentioned that he had several other offers.Jose Berrios is heading to the WBC after his outing today…

http://www.twincities.com/2017/03/03/former-teammate-pat-neshek-predicts-big-things-for-jason-castro-with-minnesota-twins/ Mike Berardino chatted with Former Twins reliever Pat Neshek. The last two years, he pitched in Houston where his catcher was Jason Castro. He thinks that Castro is underrated and will be helpful for the Twins. Trying new things and trusting his framing also are important to Castro, according to the side-winding righty from Minnesota. Lots of good quotes from Neshek in this article.

DH Park is the Twins' best hitter this spring and Vargas has yet to get a hit. Utility player Santana looks to have a leg up on Ehire Adrianza, at least with the bat. I think Ehire has one hit. Not sure if guys like Matt Hague or Tommy Field or Leonardo Reginatto have much of a shot. Back up catcher. It kind of seems that it's Chris Gimenez's job to lose as he is getting a lot of playing time and has a couple of hits and Falvey knows him from Cleveland. Then they always have Murphy and Garvey at Rochester. 5th starter. May versus Berrios looks like it is too close to call. Bullpen. Belise, Pressly, Kinzler, and Rogers I would think are locks. After that, …

I'm surprised nobody has posted this link yet so I'll do it. http://www.startribune.com/joe-mauer-s-lock-on-no-3-lineup-spot-for-the-twins-is-not-a-certainty/415050194/

http://www.twincities.com/2017/03/02/minnesota-twins-will-adjust-to-new-walk-replay-rules-paul-molitor-says/ Baseball announced seven new rule changes for 2017 this morning. Molitor was asked by media in Sarasota today for his thoughts on the changes. Specifically, he talked about the new intentional walk rule (automatic, rather than pitches) and the new 30-second limit for a manager to decide whether or not to challenge a play call. Here are the other changes: https://twitter.com/JakeInRealLife/status/837342019945033728

http://www.twincities.com/2017/02/28/minnesota-twins-connections-proved-tempting-for-veteran-slugger-mike-napoli/ Berardino wrote that the Twins were very serious about their wish to add DH/1B Mike Napoli to their roster this offseason, falling short of the Texas Rangers' offer. Chris Gimenez said he did some recruiting to try to bring Napoli to Minnesota. Craig Breslow didn't recruit - he didn't sign until late - but he said that it makes a lot more sense than we might have thought.

http://www.twincities.com/2017/02/27/drew-stubbs-robbie-grossman-meet-again-as-minnesota-twins-teammates/ Ten years ago, Drew Stubbs was starring at the University of Texas. Robbie Grossman was a high school student, contemplating his future. There was a meeting set up between the two, and Stubbs helped Grossman on some hitting and defense things. Stubbs went on to be the #8 overall pick in the 2006 draft. Grossman signed after being drafted in high school. Now the two are on the same roster, both trying to work for an outfield role with the Twins. It may even be a one or the other situation.

Hey all, With the release of this year's promotional schedule, I've been working on a spreadsheet/table of MLB promotions for the season. I know Twins Daily tends to lean a little more toward game action and advanced stats, but does anyone think there is a spot here for promotions and general memorabilia writeups? (Yes, it's been a year and a half since my last post, also about promos and giveaways, but I finally started work on the table)