Minnesota Twins Talk

I… uh… think it may have arrived. This team may just have gotten really good in a hurry.

I'm sure a lot of you have seen this already...Taylor Rogers just saved his 11th game last night for the Pads. He's converted 11 out of 12 save opportunities. Not too shabby. I still like the trade and would've done it, but that's pretty darn good.

The Twins rotation, a great question mark coming into the season, has surpassed the expectations of many. However, a rotation may change throughout the year. Some starters may fall off, others might find a place in the rotation and settle in. At the all-star break, this is what I think the rotation will look like: 1. Joe Ryan 2. Sonny Gray 3. Chris Paddack 4. Chris Archer 5. Josh Winder/Bailey Ober/Dylan Bundy

I'm sure most of you have seen the article, but if not here is the link: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/08/sports/baseball/byron-buxton-twins.html

Twins are in first and there is a one word explanation why. I would bet that the recent sweeps at Target by the Twins of Tigers, White Sox and now A's have never been matched in Twins/Senators history by simiar scores if matched at all. It does seem to be a league wide issue of overall pitching dominance but the Twins have to be at the top of the list of winning close, low scoring game after close low scoring game. The 4-3 win yesterday was an offensive outburst it seems. So the question is, how long can this keep up and will the Ws continue when offenses wake up and 2-1 becomes 6-5? Another question is, the pitching that good or is the hitting that bad? Houston coming in…

This is a pretty fun stat and wow.

I guess I've felt the Twins were very prone to place players on the IL when they were unable to play for a day or two. I've also thought they were inclined to keep players on the IL perhaps longer than needed, such as with Sonny Gray, who was supposed to be on the Injured List for the minimum amount of time, and then he was out for an additional week plus. Now I am starting to really not know what is going on. Case in point--Byron Buxton. After the knee injury scare, he didn't play for over a week and then DHed and then sat out a game. So basically all Buxton did in a 10-day period was DH one game. Now Buxton was removed from a game and out of today's game with an o…

The Twins’ starting rotation, which was very poor last year, has been rock solid in the first 29 games this year. This is their current rotation: 1. Joe Ryan 2. Sonny Gray 3. Chris Paddack 4. Chris Archer 5. Dylan Bundy/Josh Winder/Bailey Ober 2022 is the year of the long expected pitching pipeline. Some more prospects may come up and take rotation spots and some of the pitchers listed above will move to bullpen roles. What do you think this rotation will look like in 2025? Here’s mine: 1. Joe Ryan 2. Jordan Balazovic 3. Josh Winder 4. Simeon Woods Richardson 5. Bailey Ober

And who is going to tonight's game? ME

Describe the 2022 Minnesota Twins season so far in memes! Just like my other meme threads, the rules are the same. Rules: 1. Memes only, no words 2. Snark and sarcasm are welcome, disrespectfulness is not 3. All content must be safe for work I’ll go first:

Per Betsy Helfand, Rocco Baldelli has tested positive for COVID-19. Jayce Tingler will serve as acting manager in Baldelli's absence.

The calendar has turned to May, @Vanimal46 is calling me out, and the Twins are winning. What more could be asked for? So, now the team is 24 games into the season and have a 4 game lead in the division. How has your outlook on wins changed, if at all? This is a follow-up poll from one conducted just before the season started. If you posted there, I'm interested to see if you changed your mind, and why.

After starting the season as cold and unpredictable as the Minnesota weather with two series losses, and two series splits, the Twins have sprung into spring and first place winning 10 of their last 11 games. Just as the Twin Cities weather is heating up, the arms of the Minnesota pitchers are following suit, allowing over four runs just once during their current tear, and completing two shutouts along with four games surrendering just one run. The early season rust appears to be knocked off, and the pitchers are hitting their marks like arrows flung from a skilled archer. Pitching coach Wes Anderson and manager Rocco Baldelli are known for their …

Looks like Sano is to have surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his knee. Edit: Just an update on Sano's surgery.

When are they going to pull the plug on Sano? Pathetic.

Nothing here that we don't already know, but it's nice that he is getting national attention. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/twins/2022/05/05/byron-buxton-twins-100-million-gamble/9657288002/

With this app, you’ll be able to watch in-market games. At this price, they’re really banking on people being fans of multiple local sports teams to justify the cost IMO. I also have concerns about the quality of the app. Considering Bally Sports app with a cable TV login has issues they have not fixed.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2022/05/miguel-sano-to-undergo-surgery-to-repair-torn-meniscus-in-knee.html

He's scuffling a bit this season but still very excited to see him in Minnesota.

I asked this question two weeks ago, and the team has since added Chris Archer and Carlos Correa. Is that enough to move the needle for you? Have any other players jumped out in Spring Training that have changed your opinion?

About a week ago, I started a thread entitled "A Few Random Thoughts". Since then, the Twins have continued to win games and (mostly) look promising doing it. I have assembled another helping of tidbits for discussion. I hope they generate discussion and debate. 1) Injuries have happened, most notably upcoming surgery for Miguel Sano. Those injured are Sano (1st base), Garlick (corner OF), and Kirilloff (corner OF/1st base). As usual, when injuries occur, they seem to cluster. First base options now are Luis Arraez and Jose Miranda. 2) Two starting pitchers remain on on the Injured List. Both look like they will be back shortly. If/when all return, Winder probab…

The Twins have several prospects set to debut this year. Some we have seen already, others are yet to come. Who are you looking forward to seeing the most?

2022 is the year of the long-awaited pitching pipeline that Falvey and Levine were brought here to build. We are seeing some of its production early in the season. Which rookie pitcher has impressed you the most and why?

First, I am not doing a deep dive into any of this, and I fully admit it is very early and things can change quickly. However, I wanted to just look at many of the names in FA or trade that many fans on here wanted and compare them to who we did go forward with. I went with baseball reference for just some quick looks, again not a deep dive. Hitters: I think we did just fine with Correa who is at a .5 WAR, is fielding great, and looking to break out of early slump. Many wanted us to sign Trevor Story: -0.1 WAR, has been hitting a little better lately, but defense numbers not looking too good yet. Marcus Semien was mentioned, but not as likely of signing, …

Nice to see the Big Boys giving our guys some love! Will it continue? https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/powerrankings/

2022 is a pivotal year for the Twins’ FO. What must they accomplish this year in order to keep their jobs?

Through the first 21 games of the 2022 MLB Season, the Twins have not been the type of team we predicted. Most of us predicted a Top 10 offense and a Bottom 10 starting rotation. However, the starting rotation has shined and the offense has struggled. Which is a bigger surprise to you? Or is something else an even bigger surprise than both of these? That’s the question of the day.

The Twins need to cut the roster by two tomorrow and the end of the bench is making it a difficult decision. The third catcher will be one move. Godoy hasn't been given a chance to stay. The other cut might be an outfielder. Can you send down Garlick after he hits two home runs against one of the best left handed pitchers in the league? Larnach has made some plays in the field and looks better at the plate. Do you send down what appears to be the top option against right handed pitching? Celestino provides defense, speed and his at bats have been putting the ball in play this year. With Buxton on the mend again can they send out Celestino? They could go to 13 pi…

What a monumental signing. 1st of all it seems to be a great contract, but that deal seems to be the one that helped us pivot from rebuilding to retooling on the fly. If he didn't sign the deal he is traded and we probably hit the reset button.