May 30, 20179 yr Former MLBer turned gaijin (slang for American MLBers in Japan) RHP Kam Mickolio was called up from Extended Spring Training to join the beleaguered AAA bullpen. Mickolio's FB has been 91-93 mph in the two outings I've seen him at the Ft. Myers complex. 5/19/17https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IYvpxSpDeo 5/27/17https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zisIukBXpWE
May 30, 20179 yr Author Heaven forbid a prospect be promoted.....It had to be known that as long as Mickolio's arm didn't fall off in EXST he was going to get one of the first callups to AAA then likely MLB as long as he looks good and there is a spot open for him. Edited May 30, 20179 yr by Bob Sacamento
May 30, 20179 yr It had to be known that as long as Mickolio's arm didn't fall off in EXST he was going to get one of the first callups to AAA then likely MLB as long as he looks good and there is a spot open for him. doesn't mean I have to like it. This FO is completely uninterested in promoting long time MN Twins' farm hands, this much must be clear by now.
May 30, 20179 yr Looks like he's had problem throwing strikes his entire career.Pass. He's not a prospect.He's not young.He isn't a Twins' draft pick.He has never been all that good. Sounds like an ideal Falvey/Levine RP to me. see the list....
May 30, 20179 yr Former MLBer turned gaijin (slang for American MLBers in Japan) RHP Kam Mickolio was called up from Extended Spring Training to join the beleaguered AAA bullpen. Mickolio's FB has been 91-93 mph in the two outings I've seen him at the Ft. Myers complex. 5/19/17https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IYvpxSpDeo 5/27/17https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zisIukBXpWEGaijin is a term used to reference all non-Japanese, or foreigners, in Japan, not just baseball players. At one time the term was somewhat derogatory, a racial slur even, but now usage is pretty widespread and universally accepted.
May 30, 20179 yr It had to be known that as long as Mickolio's arm didn't fall off in EXST he was going to get one of the first callups to AAA then likely MLB as long as he looks good and there is a spot open for him. Judging by the responses in this thread, if it was known, it clearly wasn't widely known. His career 6.5 K/9 in Japan sure doesn't look like what this bullpen needs at this point. Or any point frankly. Not sure why he'd be promised anything other than a new razor.
May 30, 20179 yr I wonder if Falvey/Levine just don't think much of Melotakis. Kind of surprised they haven't at least bumped him to AAA.
May 30, 20179 yr I wonder if Falvey/Levine just don't think much of Melotakis. Kind of surprised they haven't at least bumped him to AAA. that has to be the conclusion at this point, doesn't it? They aren't big on him, and the others need more time (in their mind) before moving on up.
May 30, 20179 yr Author doesn't mean I have to like it. This FO is completely uninterested in promoting long time MN Twins' farm hands, this much must be clear by now.Not saying you have to, nor should you. But as soon as they signed the 33yo, as long as he threw the ball around the plate he was going to get the first shot at AAA. In two months, it might not matter as he might not be around. Still though, the new FO either doesn't like it's young pen options or they want to baby them some more. Seems more the former than the latter at this point but can't fully judge til the roster shakeup in July/August
May 30, 20179 yr Author Judging by the responses in this thread, if it was known, it clearly wasn't widely known. His career 6.5 K/9 in Japan sure doesn't look like what this bullpen needs at this point. Or any point frankly. Not sure why he'd be promised anything other than a new razor.The reason he signed with the Twins in the first place was that he was promised a quick callup to the upper level minors.
May 30, 20179 yr Not saying you have to, nor should you. But as soon as they signed the 33yo, as long as he threw the ball around the plate he was going to get the first shot at AAA. In two months, it might not matter as he might not be around. Still though, the new FO either doesn't like it's young pen options or they want to baby them some more. Seems more the former than the latter at this point but can't fully judge til the roster shakeup in July/August Of course he won't be in Rochester in a couple of months ... he'll be too busy having dinner at 4 p.m. with Belisle, Breslow and whatever other 300-year-old cadavers the Wonder Twins dig up to compose this summer's bullpen.
May 30, 20179 yr Looks like he's had problem throwing strikes his entire career. 1.2 BB/9 in 45-1/3 innings (6 BB) last season disagrees... Edited May 30, 20179 yr by Thrylos
May 30, 20179 yr The reason he signed with the Twins in the first place was that he was promised a quick callup to the upper level minors. I've been saying for years now that if you're a generally terrible FA pitcher and your agent isn't targeting the Twins, then your agent needs to be fired. This FO - seemingly regardless of who's running it - is all about trying to pluck that one solid piece of corn from the road apple. Never mind the smudges they get on their hands along the way, so long as everyone sees that one minor sucess.
May 30, 20179 yr Judging by the responses in this thread, if it was known, it clearly wasn't widely known. His career 6.5 K/9 in Japan sure doesn't look like what this bullpen needs at this point. Or any point frankly. Not sure why he'd be promised anything other than a new razor. League average for the JPL was about 7 last year. Mickolio was at 5.8. So, about 1 K per 9 lower than average. There were barely a dozen guys with K per 9 above 10 last year. There were more than 60 at the MLB level last year with at least 40 IP.
May 31, 20179 yr League average for the JPL was about 7 last year. Mickolio was at 5.8. So, about 1 K per 9 lower than average. There were barely a dozen guys with K per 9 above 10 last year. There were more than 60 at the MLB level last year with at least 40 IP.Honestly, both of those paragraphs sound like arguments for the Twins to stay far, far away from this guy let alone make him any promises.
May 31, 20179 yr Who? Why? NOT saying you have to crazy aggressive, but we need pen arms. There's no room for Melotakis, Curtiss or Rosario at Rochester at this point?
May 31, 20179 yr Who? Why?NOT saying you have to crazy aggressive, but we need pen arms. There's no room for Melotakis, Curtiss or Rosario at Rochester at this point?Correct. Only old, bad, players, not previously in the system, are worthy of promotion. Try to keep up.
May 31, 20179 yr Why can't it be the front office has a plan with the actual prospects and they are sticking to it in regards to the young bullpen arms? You don't promote a prospect simply because a spot opens up at a higher level; you promote a prospect because he's ready for that level or has more he can learn at that level. Until I see Terry Ryan rip off his Derek Falvey mask, I'll continue to give the new regime the benefit of the doubt when it comes to pitching development.
May 31, 20179 yr Why can't it be the front office has a plan with the actual prospects and they are sticking to it in regards to the young bullpen arms? You don't promote a prospect simply because a spot opens up at a higher level; you promote a prospect because he's ready for that level or has more he can learn at that level. Until I see Terry Ryan rip off his Derek Falvey mask, I'll continue to give the new regime the benefit of the doubt when it comes to pitching development. Maybe the plan was to have the AA pitchers see the same teams a couple of times to see if they get the same people out. Then it would appear they have a plan and sticking to it
May 31, 20179 yr I wonder if Falvey/Levine just don't think much of Melotakis. Kind of surprised they haven't at least bumped him to AAA. that has to be the conclusion at this point, doesn't it? They aren't big on him, and the others need more time (in their mind) before moving on up. I think is fairly obvious that the new management doesn't think as highly of the Twins MiLB RP's. That and the number of guys needing surgery. I like guys who can throw fastballs approaching 100mph, but are these guys throwing beyond what their arms can actually handle?
May 31, 20179 yr I think is fairly obvious that the new management doesn't think as highly of the Twins MiLB RP's. That and the number of guys needing surgery. I like guys who can throw fastballs approaching 100mph, but are these guys throwing beyond what their arms can actually handle? I'm not sure I'd call it 'not thinking high of' but having a plan and executing it. Pseudo is right here guys. You'll start seeing those promotions work through as we get closer to the all star break. This contention was somewhat unexpected and they are far more concerned with getting it right with these guys than a stat line. I think we need to give them the benefit of the doubt. For this year at least.
May 31, 20179 yr Twins Daily staff: Your video advertisements are flipping the thread back up to the top and it is impossible to scroll through to the bottom. On Firefox, Mac.
May 31, 20179 yr Why can't it be the front office has a plan with the actual prospects and they are sticking to it in regards to the young bullpen arms? You don't promote a prospect simply because a spot opens up at a higher level; you promote a prospect because he's ready for that level or has more he can learn at that level. Until I see Terry Ryan rip off his Derek Falvey mask, I'll continue to give the new regime the benefit of the doubt when it comes to pitching development. It can be. But, here are the pitchers this FO has picked: Breslow, Belisle, Wilk, Rucinski, Haley (did I miss any?). Should I feel more, or less, confident than I did before the year started?
May 31, 20179 yr I'm not sure I'd call it 'not thinking high of' but having a plan and executing it. Pseudo is right here guys. You'll start seeing those promotions work through as we get closer to the all star break. This contention was somewhat unexpected and they are far more concerned with getting it right with these guys than a stat line. I think we need to give them the benefit of the doubt. For this year at least. I don't think anyone is right or wrong... I can't say I'm thrilled with their conservative approach moving prospects through the system this season.
May 31, 20179 yr I think is fairly obvious that the new management doesn't think as highly of the Twins MiLB RP's. That and the number of guys needing surgery. I like guys who can throw fastballs approaching 100mph, but are these guys throwing beyond what their arms can actually handle? High velocity guys and guys who can miss bats seems to be Cleveland's recipe. I'm going to be dearly disappointed if Falvey suddenly decided to depart from that philosophy upon coming to Minnesota. It was practically the entirety of his sales pitch as far as I was concerned.
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