I've heard some people saying they'd like to see Trevor May get a shot at the closer position. I seriously have to ask, why? How many opportunities is he really going to get at the rate this team is playing? Why waste a guy who has the longevity to be a SP on one inning every few weeks? Coming into this season I was under the impression that his move to the pen was strictly due to the fact that the Twins thought they had a legitimate shot at being competitive. With that notion no longer existing is there really a reason to continue wasting his talents there? I understand something has to be done about the Hughes/Nolasco log jam for it to be feasible, bit surely the Twins will make the right move. Right? RIGHT!?

That was supposed to say "legitimate shot" by the way.

I suppose Dellin Betances and Wade Davis should go back to the rotation.... 

 

I suppose Dellin Betances and Wade Davis should go back to the rotation.... 

Interesting comparison.  Wade Davis was a clear failure as a starter and was given plenty of time to prove that, and Betances had exactly one start in the majors about 5 years ago and lasted a whopping 2 innings.  He was never going to be a starter.

 

Comparing May's starter career to theirs is like comparing monkeys to lizards.

Edited May 13, 201610 yr by jimmer

The Twins supposedly have all these stud level young relievers in the minors, why not try out one of them before trying out a guy who could actually help our starting rotation? Which if you haven't noticed, could really use it.

 

Wade Davis was a clear failure as a starter 

So was May.

 

So was May.

no, he wasn't.  not at all.  And he certainly wasn't given the amount of time Davis was given to show what he could (or couldn't) do.

So was May.

lol, what?

Edited May 13, 201610 yr by Chthulu

I'd flip Hughes with May and let Hughes close for a while.  He was lights out as Rivera's set up man, and likely alright until Burdi gets his act together.

I'm definitely a proponent of moving Hughes to the BP. Or anywhere that's not the starting rotation.

 

I'd flip Hughes with May and let Hughes close for a while.  He was lights out as Rivera's set up man, and likely alright until Burdi gets his act together.

Since the money is already spent, I'd do the same thing.  Hughes was a very good reliever.  It's where he belongs.  It's where he's always belonged.

Since it is fairly clear this team won't cut the mustard... and I say fairly, because I don't want to be a pessimist, May needs to be stretched out and start the rest of season. He certainly showed some signs of being able to be a SP last season. There is no reason to pigeon hole him into being a bullpen arm. It doesn't make any sense based upon his production last year as a starter. Taking the good and bad into consideration.

May has never had durability, and with his success in the bullpen there is no reason to move him out of it.

Even with his very good 2014, Hughes career ERA as a starter is 4.51 (4.18 FIP)

 

As a reliever, 2.11 ERA (2.27 FIP) in an admittedly small sample size.  His starter size is larger enough though.

 

As a reliever:

 

3.5 more Ks/9IP 

WHIP 46 points lower than his starter WHIP.

And I could go on.

 

A beast in the bullpen, really.  Nothing more than a #5, #4 (at best) starter (barring another completely outlier season).

 

Edited May 13, 201610 yr by jimmer

Not when he's going to be the Twins all-star rep. (Sorry Joe)

I can't really see the harm in letting him start the rest of the season. If he fails then it's back to the pen, if not then all the better. Seeing anything other than Hughes flounder around once every five days is an improvement in my opinion. Now if they could just cut ties with Nolasco already for when Gibson comes back I might be interested in watching the starting rotation. It's all pure fantasy though, I'm sure.

May has never had durability, and with his success in the bullpen there is no reason to move him out of it.

I think you must have May mistaken for someone else. I don't think he's ever had any injury issues, not even in the minors.

 

I think you must have May mistaken for someone else. I don't think he's ever had any injury issues, not even in the minors.

He actually has. Not to mention he wears down easily during a game.

The only problem May had was getting deep into games. Once gee settled in he did pretty well. I wanted to light twins daily on fire when he was demoted to the bullpen. Yep, now I'm pissed again.

 

He actually has. Not to mention he wears down easily during a game.

Hrb, you might just get your wish at some point, but don't you think it would be prudent to build him up as a starter and analyze what we have in him instead of branding him a bullpen arm when he really has not had the chance to be a starter at the MLB level. He needs more than the 25 starts for us to come to a final conclusion. He did have some bright performances last year out of the starter's role and there is nothing left to lose this year. Executing this really does not have any consequences.

 

He actually has. Not to mention he wears down easily during a game.

 

I believe, in addition to your injury confusion, you've also confused "Throwing too many pitches" with "wearing down".

He actually has. Not to mention he wears down easily during a game.

Can you list the time he's missed with injury please?

I only ask because he was touted for his durability when we traded for him, and I don't recall any significant injuries since then.

 

Plus, I can't find any missing chunks in his yearly stats.

He actually has. Not to mention he wears down easily during a game.

The numbers actually disprove your second sentence, factually.

 

He has, by far, his best stats from pitch 76-100 than any other pitch count range.

 

If he has trouble going deep in games it's because his pitch count gets too high, not because he wears down physically.

A quick Google search shows that 18 days around the Futures Game in 2014 seems to be the ONLY time he's missed due to injury during his 9 year professional career.

 

That sounds pretty darn durable to me.

Someone please point out any that I might have missed.

He actually has. Not to mention he wears down easily during a game.

You act as if we have a lights out rotation with zero room for trial and error.

I'm somewhere in the middle between people touting May as the possibly the best SP on the staff and those who think he was a failure.  I would be all for giving him another shot at the rotation though.  See what you've got with him.  

 

I believe Hughes is toast as a starter.  For a guy that relied heavily on his fastball he's clearly lost some velocity.  Maybe he can amp that back up a bit if only pitching an inning at a time.  

So was May.

Uhhhhhhhhhhhh.

 

No.

Yea, i think May could be a great closer actually.  He has 25 Major League starts and has barely got to the 6th inning. Mainly because of his lack of control.  Yes he gets K's, but he also walks a lot of batters. Even in the Minors he struggled as a starter to get to the 7th inning because he was all over the place.

Terrible Tommy as everyone says avg over 6 IP p/start in the Minors where May is just over 5 IP per start.  Tommy also had a 5 to 1 rate of K's to BB.  May was 2.5 to 1. 

 

Now May certainly has better stuff than Milone, but in the long run he is at best a #3 starter which is fine. But i really think he could be a dominant closer.  And right now the Twins need to find a dominant closer.

 

Yea, i think May could be a great closer actually.  He has 25 Major League starts and has barely got to the 6th inning. Mainly because of his lack of control.  Yes he gets K's, but he also walks a lot of batters. Even in the Minors he struggled as a starter to get to the 7th inning because he was all over the place.

Terrible Tommy as everyone says avg over 6 IP p/start in the Minors where May is just over 5 IP per start.  Tommy also had a 5 to 1 rate of K's to BB.  May was 2.5 to 1. 

 

Now May certainly has better stuff than Milone, but in the long run he is at best a #3 starter which is fine. But i really think he could be a dominant closer.  And right now the Twins need to find a dominant closer.

Woody, there are no saves to be had!

I am also conflicted about May. He has three good pitches, which you like to see in a starter, his command improved markedly last year and he has just over half a year's worth of starts. When in the rotation the fastball velo is down a couple of mph, meaning it isn't quite as dominant a pitch. Trevor appears to have good enough stuff to be a fine bullpen arm or above-average closer. Where he would fit in a rotation doesn't seem to be as easily defined.