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Twins 2015 Rotation

DocBauer

By DocBauer
in Minnesota Twins Talk

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DocBauer St Paul Saints

DocBauer

Verified Member
Posted
Posted

I know this subject might seem premature. The Twins have been flirting with .500 so far this season, as high as 2 games up, hovering about 4 games down before the ChiSox series. This team is still in a transitional phase, and I think some forget that. After 3 very disappointing, and downright lousy seasons, 2014 is fun and competitive, and already has had some great moments. There are arguements, all thoughtful, what the Twins SHOULD do the rest of the season. And most everyone is chomping at the bit to see prospects get their shot yet this season. And arguements anyone over 30 should be shed.

 

But, again, our team is much more competitive this year, flirting with a positive season for the first time in 3 years. Contributions have come from many sources, including several youngsters. Hughes has been good to outstanding almost since day 1. Gibson has been solid to very good, a little inconsistent, but appears to be growing right before our eyes. Forget regression, which is inevitable to some degree, but Escobar and Santana have been good and exciting. Dozier has established himself as a building block and one one of the best overall 2B in all of baseball. Arcia is very, very young, but has shown flashes, and needs to be stuck with, (and he will). Plouffe has really grown up. Thielbar is contributing. And AAA and AA have some very intriguing prospects to root for and follow the rest of the season, possibly at the ML level. Despite the injuries to Sano and Buxton, there's a lot to be excited about! And the season hasn't even reached the half way point yet.

 

Most importantly, the pitching staff has shown real improvement, despite some inconsistencies. Let's look at the results so far.

 

April: 5.02 ERA, 1.48 Whip, .279 BA against. Last in the AL in ERA.

May: 3.97 ERA, 1.29 Whip, .266 BA against. 10th in the AL in ERA.

June: 3.70 ERA, 1.26 Whip, .251 BA against. 7th in the AL in ERA.

 

And despite being near the bottom in team SO's, a sore spot with many I know, we ranked 2nd in the AL in fewest free passes allowed.

 

Folks, these are things to be excited about!

 

Even with the disappointment of the Boston series, just when it looked like we might be on a mini-roll, we held our own and pitched outstanding. Now back home, wer're back to winning again with 3 straight over the hated White Sox. Supposedly, the Twins toughest portion of the schedule was the first half. That remains to be seen. But with the pitching rounding in to form, our biggest concern seems to be offense. What will happen there is anyone's guess. But Willingham has looked good, Morales has slumped a bit lately but what did you expect coming off the street? Look for him to rally again, there's an impressive track history there. Mauer is a stud. He just hasn't looked like it yet this season. But there's a lot of season left, and lately he's hit better. I think we have a lot of good and fun baseball ahead of us the rest of the season. 3+ months of baseball that should see the appearance of several intriguing prospects making their debuts, even if only in September.

 

And ultimately, that is what this thread is about. There's been tremendous interest, as there should be, in the Twins top prospects, more pointedly, the pitching talent at AAA. There is also some talent at AA, and some really good looking kids, notably Berrios, who can and should make their presence known the second half of the season at New Britain. Pitching wins, especially starting pitching. And since its a hot topic, let's forget for a moment what's going on at the ML level, to a degree, and focus on 2015.

 

The 2015 rotation already has 3 staples:

 

Hughes: pitching like talent and everyone thought/dreamed he could. Have the Twins found an Ace? Perhaps, or at least close to it.

 

Nolasco: OK, he's been a disappointment so far. But he's shown signs, including a solid recent start, and has a track record that seems to indicate improvement.

 

Gibson: won a job in ST when everyone was resolved the Twins would stick with a more experienced status quo. He started a little inconsistent, but solid, as mentioned, and is only getting better. Only concern is late this year. Will he tire? Maybe. But he's a fixture for 2015 and on.

 

So where does that leave us? Let's be honest for a moment. In my 40 plus years following the Twins and MLB, how many teams have a 5 deep rotation? Few. We could be an exception.

 

May and Meyer, and I'd include Darnell, will fill at least one additional spot next season. All are young, unproven at the ML level, have some things to work on, but very talented. And all 3 should see time with the Twins the second half of this season.

 

Who steps forward first?

 

For the 5th spot, is it another of those 3? Does Pino defy expectation and become the odd 30 y.o. who finds himself late? Does Deduno recapture his 2013 form? Or does Pelfrey, (wait, don't cuss or spit), 2 years from TJ and over his recent nerve procedure, step up for a year and actually earn a year of his contract? Or does someone like Berrios just blow everyone away and force himself in to contention?

 

What say you all?

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Thrylos St Paul Saints

Thrylos

Old-Timey Member
Posted
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What's your opinion on May? He flames out in a starter role either this year or in 2015 ST?

 

No. I do not see him flaming out. I also do not see the Twins going with him over Pelfrey or Nolasco, unless they can work out a trade for those guys.

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jokin Wichita Wind Surge

jokin

Old-Timey Member
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No. I do not see him flaming out. I also do not see the Twins going with him over Pelfrey or Nolasco, unless they can work out a trade for those guys.

 

Sooo.....Trevor May, at age 25, steadfastly champions on into his 8th year in the minors in 2015.......wonderful.

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Buck Nasty Prep Ball

Buck Nasty

Provisional Member
Posted
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Yohan Pino is your ace, followed by Pelfrey and Diamond. Correia comes back on a one year deal and they re-sign Nick Blackburn for Karma similar to what they did with Kubel/Bartlett. Hughes/Gibson/Meyer/May anchor AAA for depth until the GM decides they are ready. Nolasco is traded for Drew Butera or possibly Nick Punto. #World Champions

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diehardtwinsfan Minnesota Twins

diehardtwinsfan

Community Moderator
Posted
Posted
Hughes, Nolasco, Gibson, Meyer, May. That is a rotation that could bring home a championship with a good offense.

 

This would be my vote, but with Pelfrey on the roster in 2015, I don't see it happening. At one point I'd think they'd have to trade Darnell too, especially with guys like Gilmartin and Berrios playing in AAA at some point next year.

 

This offseason should be interesting if Pino keeps pitching well. The Twins will have a surplus of cheap pitching and not nearly the roster spots for all of them.

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goulik GCL Twins

goulik

Verified Member
Posted
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This would be my vote, but with Pelfrey on the roster in 2015, I don't see it happening. At one point I'd think they'd have to trade Darnell too, especially with guys like Gilmartin and Berrios playing in AAA at some point next year.

 

This offseason should be interesting if Pino keeps pitching well. The Twins will have a surplus of cheap pitching and not nearly the roster spots for all of them.

 

Gilmartin is already at AAA. Promoted and started his first AAA game of the year

This week

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Danchat St Paul Saints

Danchat

Verified Member
Posted
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Is it possible that the Twins DFA Pelfrey in the offseason?

 

Yeah, but his $$$ for next year is guaranteed, so we might as well bring him to spring training, see if he can pitch, and if not, then DFA him.

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Paul Pleiss First Round Pick

Paul Pleiss

Verified Member
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Pino projects extremely well in the pen for us. And he is insurance if a starter goes down. I'd like to see him in a Twins uni for years.

 

Let's not get carried away giving out multi year contracts just yet. He's on the wrong side of 30 and we've yet to see what happens once teams collect a better report card on him.

 

I like what he's done this season in AAA, and he looked very capable in his debut, but let's hold off giving him a spot in the pen for the next few seasons. If you want to replace Jared Burton with the Yohan, I'm on board for that, effective immediately. Then call up Trevor May.

 

Now we've got something to talk about!

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jokin Wichita Wind Surge

jokin

Old-Timey Member
Posted
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Let's not get carried away giving out multi year contracts just yet. He's on the wrong side of 30 and we've yet to see what happens once teams collect a better report card on him.

 

I like what he's done this season in AAA, and he looked very capable in his debut, but let's hold off giving him a spot in the pen for the next few seasons. If you want to replace Jared Burton with the Yohan, I'm on board for that, effective immediately. Then call up Trevor May.

 

Now we've got something to talk about!

 

FYI- The Twins are committed to Pino for just his next start, only (see below, the slot for June 30 is conspicuously left open). I have to think a move is coming to bring up a position player tomorrow, but unfortunately, it's extremely unlikely it's to replace Burt-ie. The Red Wings are currently only listing tomorrow's starter, Alex Meyer, so no indication on anything having been decided in Rochester from the projected starter listings.

 

 

[TABLE=class: tablehead, width: 922]

[TR=class: colhead]

JUNE

[TD=width: 20%]OPPONENT[/TD]

[TD=width: 10%, align: right]TIME (ET)[/TD]

[TD=width: 10%, align: center]TV[/TD]

[TD=width: 14%]MIN PITCHER[/TD]

[TD=width: 14%]OPP. PITCHER[/TD]

[TD=width: 22%, colspan: 2]TICKETS[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: evenrow team-10-3]

Tue, Jun 24

[TD=align: left]

[/TD]

[TD=align: right]10:05 PM[/TD]

[TD=align: center][/TD]

Gibson (6-5)

Wilson (7-6)

[TD=colspan: 2]2,685 available[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: oddrow team-10-3]

Wed, Jun 25

[TD=align: left]

[/TD]

[TD=align: right]10:05 PM[/TD]

[TD=align: center][/TD]

Pino (0-0)

Richards (7-2)

[TD=colspan: 2]2,603 available[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: evenrow team-10-3]

Thu, Jun 26

[TD=align: left]

[/TD]

[TD=align: right]3:35 PM[/TD]

[TD=align: center][/TD]

Nolasco (4-5)

Weaver (7-6)

[TD=colspan: 2]2,460 available[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: oddrow team-10-13]

Fri, Jun 27

[TD=align: left]

[/TD]

[TD=align: right]8:05 PM[/TD]

[TD=align: center][/TD]

Correia (4-8)

Martinez (1-4)

[TD=colspan: 2]4,222 available[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: evenrow team-10-13]

Sat, Jun 28

[TD=align: left]

[/TD]

[TD=align: right]4:05 PM[/TD]

[TD=align: center][/TD]

Hughes (8-3)

Darvish (7-3)

[TD=colspan: 2]4,909 available[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: oddrow team-10-13]

Sun, Jun 29

[TD=align: left]

[/TD]

[TD=align: right]3:05 PM[/TD]

[TD=align: center][/TD]

Gibson (6-5)

Lewis (5-4)

[TD=colspan: 2]5,586 available[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: evenrow team-10-7]

Mon, Jun 30

[TD=align: left]

[/TD]

[TD=align: right]8:10 PM[/TD]

[TD=align: center][/TD]

???????????

Shields (8-3)

[TD=colspan: 2]1,314 available[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

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