An entire article on Fangraphs deserves it's own thread, I guess....

 

But, it is an instagraphs post, so it's short! Very short.

 

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/instagraphs/behold-the-twins-defensive-turnaround/

 

 

Edited May 8, 20179 yr by Mike Sixel

It's a bit premature to be using defensive metrics, but if they don't regress too far to the mean this fielding could mean the difference between competitive or not.

I like threads that start with the word 'Behold' ... it means I have something to look forward to reading, and I did.

One thing to take away from the season thus far: young teams get better in a hurry and often unexpectedly. Time will tell if the Twins are one of those teams.

 

Sure, with this pitching staff they'll scuffle through parts of the season but if their 25-and-under core of Sano, Buxton, Rosario, Kepler, and Polanco play at or above average ball all season, this team should be decent. Whether that's 78 wins or 86 wins decent remains to be seen. A whole lot rides on the arm of Jose Berrios and some of the relievers in the pipeline.

I always say with a young team I could see things going 10 games better or 10 worse compared to the line just because it's hard to predict when young players will sort it out.

 

It's why it's best not to expect anything too soon or rule out their chances altogether too soon.

 

Still, this pitching staff worries me if Berrios is anything other than a Rookie of the Year candidate.

I always say with a young team I could see things going 10 games better or 10 worse compared to the line just because it's hard to predict when young players will sort it out.

 

It's why it's best not to expect anything too soon or rule out their chances altogether too soon.

 

Still, this pitching staff worries me if Berrios is anything other than a Rookie of the Year candidate.

I don't know if Jose needs to pitch that well but if he's merely solid, Mejia probably needs to step in and be solid as well.

I don't know if Jose needs to pitch that well but if he's merely solid, Mejia probably needs to step in and be solid as well.

Maybe even Gibson makes a triumphant return as an acceptable 4/5.

- Sano is a beast

- the outfield defense is on par with the 2016 Cubbies and 2015 Royals

- the lineup takes a lot of walks and has good OBP

- this club is due for positive regression, hard

 

Go for it. Why the hell not? Dozier's still here. Santana's having a career year. Don't wait for the deadline. Push the chips in, let's do this already!

- Sano is a beast

- the outfield defense is on par with the 2016 Cubbies and 2015 Royals

- the lineup takes a lot of walks and has good OBP

- this club is due for positive regression, hard

 

Go for it. Why the hell not? Dozier's still here. Santana's having a career year. Don't wait for the deadline. Push the chips in, let's do this already!

I'm coming around to this.

 

I would hesitate to pay much for a rental though. Either controlled arm, take on salary, or get a reliever or two at the deadline. There might be more volume of arms at the deadline, which would be a good thing for the Twins.

 

Maybe even Gibson makes a triumphant return as an acceptable 4/5.

Gibson did acknowledge that he has some things to work on.

We really need to see 2 of Berrios/Mejia/Gibson emerge as true MLB starters before I'm willing to 'push all the chips in', but if things start to look better in the starting rotation and we can put together a strong bullpen with all those young arms then it will be time to sign that FA pitcher in the off-season and look at 2018 as a year we can compete strongly.

And not just for a Wild Card spot and a single playoff series.

The Twins have no pitching staff. It's not that easy to fix.

 

I don't know if Jose needs to pitch that well but if he's merely solid, Mejia probably needs to step in and be solid as well.

 

I disagree, I don't expect Santana and Santiago to continue at this pace.  That's not to say they turn into pumpkins, but they'll take a step back.  Hughes might very well do the same.

 

And we've already seen what the depth looks like should even one injury happen.

I disagree, I don't expect Santana and Santiago to continue at this pace. That's not to say they turn into pumpkins, but they'll take a step back. Hughes might very well do the same.

 

And we've already seen what the depth looks like should even one injury happen.

I don't expect Santana or Santiago to keep it up either but mediocrity from this pitching staff could be enough to keep this team in fringe contention. I think the lineup will be that good as the season progresses.