Kurt Suzuki isn't going to cut it in the 5 spot. Once teams catch on Plouffe is doing better, he's going to get walked a bunch with punchless Kurt behind him.

 

Combine him with our #3 hitter and it would be a miracle if they combine for 10 homeruns. Lineup needs more punch in the middle if they are going to continue this decent run.

And it would be nice to have a lefty with some slugging. Which leads back to Arcia and Vargas.

And they need a DH which also leads back to Vargas and Arcia

2014 was a career year for Suzuki - he's playing closer to his career norms, with almost identical rate stats to 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013.

 

Arcia getting healthy will hopefully move Suzuki down to 7th (or 6th) in the lineup.

 

It's interesting to point out, however, that Molitor was routinely batting Arcia 7th before the injury.

 

Maybe they can flip Suzuki and Rosario in the batting order, but it seems like the team has been successful scoring runs with the lineup they have. There's a bit of a lull after Plouffe, but it seems like Santana is getting on base just enough to give Dozier and Hunter RBI opportunities. The first 4 guys in the lineup are also the top 4 in team RBI.  

Santana, despite hitting in the .220s, has scored over 20 times this year.

 

 

 

A               R               C               I               A  

 

or

 

V               A                 R              G              A                S

 

 

They not only solve the #5 problem but the DH one as well.

I think he's playing 3B down at AA right now.

 

Of course calling him up may displace the current #4 hitter, which may mean prospective #5 hitter in AA becomes the MLB #4 hitter, which means we still actually need a #5 hitter.  This paradox could collapse the enitre universe if it's not handled correctly, no pressure Mr. Ryan.

If Santana had been able to keep his job as leadoff hitter, Dozier might be the clean up hitter and Plouffe would be batting 5th...

 

I think so far the results have been encouraging.

A fairly observant baseball blogger, (certainly not me), wrote today that this is what Molitor, or the FO wants. No Arcia, Vargas, or Pinto. This allows them to increasingly slide Torii into the DH slot. It also increases the OF defense as it rotates Escobar, and Rosario through the OF. His contention is they are going to continue to focus on defense, and that Escobar is a better OF than Arcia, that Vargas clogs the DH spot, and that there will be no Pinto, as Suzuki is catching almost all the games anyway. While I tend to agree with his observation, I think the philosophy is short sighted.

I'm good with focusing on defense in the OF, but just putting our head in the sand with Vargas, Arcia, Pinto, and Sano is not going to accomplish anything

 

Maybe they can flip Suzuki and Rosario in the batting order, but it seems like the team has been successful scoring runs with the lineup they have. 

I'd be very wary of moving Rosario up the lineup. The guy is a ticking time bomb and should be protected as much as possible. In the past week he has cut down a bit on swinging at pitches outside the zone but his peripherals are still very much in "WILL ROBINSON, DANGER!" territory. He should be exposed as little as possible while he's learning the ropes at the highest level. Keep him in the back of the lineup. He's hitting well enough to stay in Minnesota - especially when you consider his defensive ability - but the Twins should treat him with kid gloves until his approach improves.

 

What the Twins need is a legitimate DH. Whether that's Arcia or Vargas, I don't really care. I believe that if Pinto returns, it will be in place of Herrmann with spot starts at DH and lots of PH appearances.

 

I'd be very wary of moving Rosario up the lineup. The guy is a ticking time bomb and should be protected as much as possible. In the past week he has cut down a bit on swinging at pitches outside the zone but his peripherals are still very much in "WILL ROBINSON, DANGER!" territory. He should be exposed as little as possible while he's learning the ropes at the highest level. Keep him in the back of the lineup. He's hitting well enough to stay in Minnesota - especially when you consider his defensive ability - but the Twins should treat him with kid gloves until his approach improves.

 

What the Twins need is a legitimate DH. Whether that's Arcia or Vargas, I don't really care. I believe that if Pinto returns, it will be in place of Herrmann with spot starts at DH and lots of PH appearances.

Yes, exactly. I was just pointing out that given the current roster, moving Suzuki down is one of the few options that Molitor has - there's not really a better bat sitting on the bench (even if there are 3 good ones in Rochester, and several more in Chattanooga).

I think they are happy with the lineup as constructed at the moment, and as soon as Arcia starts to make solid contact, he'll be back up.

Vargas might be given a longer sentence in Rochester, just because the Twins are scoring runs without him right now. 

 

I'd be very wary of moving Rosario up the lineup. The guy is a ticking time bomb and should be protected as much as possible. In the past week he has cut down a bit on swinging at pitches outside the zone but his peripherals are still very much in "WILL ROBINSON, DANGER!" territory. He should be exposed as little as possible while he's learning the ropes at the highest level. Keep him in the back of the lineup. He's hitting well enough to stay in Minnesota - especially when you consider his defensive ability - but the Twins should treat him with kid gloves until his approach improves.

 

What the Twins need is a legitimate DH. Whether that's Arcia or Vargas, I don't really care. I believe that if Pinto returns, it will be in place of Herrmann with spot starts at DH and lots of PH appearances.

Hey Brock-  Just curious of why you're so leery of Cheech Rosario.    I like what I've seen of him, and I'd much rather watch him than Arcia- especially in the outfield.

I would DH Arcia and send out a pitcher (*Stauffercoughcough*).

 

I like the improved outfield defense provided by Hicks and Rosario, and I'm in no hurry to see Ozzie clomping around out there in left field.

 

Hey Brock-  Just curious of why you're so leery of Cheech Rosario.    I like what I've seen of him, and I'd much rather watch him than Arcia- especially in the outfield.

I went into detail on it awhile back but the short version is this:

 

Rosario swings at way too many pitches, particularly pitches out of the strike zone (over 50% of them, actually). That is not a sustainable number in MLB. We often get down on Arcia for his free-swinging nature but he swings at less than 40% of pitches out of the zone.

 

Rosario has a lot of learning to do. As long as he maintains a respectable OPS, I'm fine that he continue to do that learning in Minnesota but I won't be surprised if he can't maintain respectable numbers in a Twins uniform in the short term.

 

I went into detail on it awhile back but the short version is this:

 

Rosario swings at way too many pitches, particularly pitches out of the strike zone (over 50% of them, actually). That is not a sustainable number in MLB. We often get down on Arcia for his free-swinging nature but he swings at less than 40% of pitches out of the zone.

 

Rosario has a lot of learning to do. As long as he maintains a respectable OPS, I'm fine that he continue to do that learning in Minnesota but I won't be surprised if he can't maintain respectable numbers in a Twins uniform in the short term.

Rosario has a better swing then Arcia though to "make" something out of those bad pitches he swings at (Kirby Puckett did that fantastically during his day)

Rosario will be fine, the pitch recognition and discipline will come with time and experience in the major leagues, he is still very young and somewhat "raw", but he has shown some flashes during this cup of coffee that not only suggest he can be a regular MLB but a potential star as well.

The thing is that Rosario has never shown discipline. His MiLB isoD is lower than Arcia's. This isn't a new problem.

 

Rosario might become the better overall player but I think Arcia will be a superior hitter.

 

I went into detail on it awhile back but the short version is this:

 

Rosario swings at way too many pitches, particularly pitches out of the strike zone (over 50% of them, actually). That is not a sustainable number in MLB. We often get down on Arcia for his free-swinging nature but he swings at less than 40% of pitches out of the zone.

 

Rosario has a lot of learning to do. As long as he maintains a respectable OPS, I'm fine that he continue to do that learning in Minnesota but I won't be surprised if he can't maintain respectable numbers in a Twins uniform in the short term.

It's interesting that Rosario is actually the fourth Twin to come up in the last few years who has swung (and missed) a lot, walked very little, but nonetheless actually hit well initially.  Arcia, Santana, and Vargas being the other three.  (Pinto actually was close to that profile too.)

 

Seems like they've rode the good streak and then had a fairly quick demotion trigger for Arcia (in 2013, anyway) and Vargas, while Santana has thus far gotten a much longer leash thanks to his defense-first position (although it's debatable whether he's providing much defense).  Wonder which camp Rosario will fall into?

 

Maybe one of these guys will finally be the one to "sustain the unsustainable dream"?

 

Perfect example tonight of why having Suzuki in the 5 hole is a recipe for disaster.