Article: Twins Bullpen - Internal Candidates

[Otto von Ballpark]

Nowhere in this thread has anyone suggested that Rogers is our #5 next year. I suggested that Duffey should be the #5 if Pelfrey isn't brought back and some other pitcher is traded, and another poster said that Duffey and maybe Rogers are better than our past 5's, as in, Taylor Rogers is maybe better than Yohan Pino, Kris Johnson, etc.

 

If Taylor Rogers is our #5 starter next year, he either found a completely different gear, or a lot of things have gone terribly awry.

My bad, it was from another reliever-related thread...

[Cap'n Piranha]

 

My bad, it was from another reliever-related thread...

 

All good dude!

[Cap'n Piranha]

 

I don't think we should minimize Rogers' potential as a starter and I would certainly keep him starting after this year. I think he can be a solid big league starter (4/5 type), especially if he can make some adjustment vs RHB. My thing about be if the Twins are in contention and he's deemed a guy that can help the big league club out of the bullpen, I'd be all for it. 

 

Same with Duffey. 

 

I think Roger's could be an ok #5 too, but that shouldn't be something the Twins need any time soon.  Barring trades, collapses in other pitcher's abilities, or Rogers kicking it into a higher gear, he won't get above 7 or 8 on the SP depth chart.  By the time Nolasco/Hughes/Santana are off the books, Berrios/Hu/Gonsalves should be ready.  By the time Gibson and May have gotten too expensive, guys like Batts/Stewart/Thorpe/Jorge/Rosario will hopefully be ready.

 

Any/all of those guys could completely fall apart, but Rogers will need at least 3 or 4 of those guys to fall in value to get to a point where he's any more than a spot starter/AAAA pitching depth.  That being said, I think he'd be a great LOOGY, with the chance to add some velocity and become a late inning guy.  I think that's where he'll provide the most value to the Twins.

[Captain Hindsight]

 

 

I'd prefer Rogers up, as a LOOGY who can also get out right handers.

 

That's not a LOOGY, that is just a reliever.

 

In all seriousness though, I am all for trying anything that relieves Duensing of his position in the BP. Rogers splits show he is unlikely to be an effective starter in the big leagues so it is worth a shot as a lefty specialist in the BP, but don't think we should force in a lefty. If our best option is a righty then that is who we should bring up.

[brvama]

Another name I think we might be overlooking is Brandon Peterson.  I'm not sure if the Twins would promote him from AA but he has be absolutely dominate.  It might be a year early for him, but he has out-performed many of the notable prospects. 

[cholm1976]

If, as many had suggested, The Twins would have given some of these younger guys a chance earlier in the season, they might not be in this predicament. I truly believe the Twins have more than enough talent at ML and AAA to put together a very good pen without the need of outside help but they just haven't gone about it in a very smart manner. They seem as an organization to be too enamored with veterans to have ever fully accepted their fate as a rebuilding team and thus, a lot of guys have gotten stuck at AAA too long. Why not give guys like Tonkin, Oliveros, Achter etc a shot before they lose their mental edge and become AAAA fodder?

[drjim]

If, as many had suggested, The Twins would have given some of these younger guys a chance earlier in the season, they might not be in this predicament. I truly believe the Twins have more than enough talent at ML and AAA to put together a very good pen without the need of outside help but they just haven't gone about it in a very smart manner. They seem as an organization to be too enamored with veterans to have ever fully accepted their fate as a rebuilding team and thus, a lot of guys have gotten stuck at AAA too long. Why not give guys like Tonkin, Oliveros, Achter etc a shot before they lose their mental edge and become AAAA fodder?

By "predicament" do you mean not in playoff contention?

 

Winning games is really screwing up the rebuild.