Article: Daily Twins Daily: August 4, 2017

[Parker Hageman]

Good morning and welcome to the Daily Twins Daily.

 

We have a rundown on last night’s game, an introduction to Dillon Gee, some minor league action (with a play from Mitch Garver that you have to see), Jorge Polanco’s struggles, and breaking down Adalberto Mejia’s mechanics. Get a cup of coffee or Red Bull, settle in and let me take you for a tour around today’s reads.First: Tom Froemming has the game breakdown.

 

Heading into this game, on paper, the Twins seemed like favorites. For starters, on fastballs under 90 MPH, they had the second highest average at .430 (only the Nationals did better versus weak sauce). So it stands to reason that Texas starter, AJ Griffin, who averages 87.7 MPH, would be meat the entire night, right? Wrong, because here is the other thing: The Twins offense is reeaaaallly bad against big, slow curveballs. As a unit they are hitting .212 against breaking balls that were 80 MPH or under -- the second lowest in MLB. Naturally, Griffin kept them at bay by flipping lollypop spinners and made his 88 mile poo hour fastball appear that much quicker.

 

Dillon Gee made his Twins debut in mopping up for Adalberto Mejia after Mejia threw way, way, way too many pitches (in four different at-bats, Mejia threw seven pitches). Sure, there were some plays his defense could have made behind him but Majia fired too many unnecessary bullets (more on Mejia below). Watching Gee, there was something I liked about his approach and the reaction the hitters had to his pitches. Gee was barely breaking 90 and yet hitters were over and under his offerings for the night. So I had to check on the data.

 

What’s the answer? Spin.

 

According to StatCast data, Gee is throwing his fastball at 88.7 MPH on average. This ranks him at 581st among all pitchers this season. However, his fastball’s spin rate (the number of times it rotates on the way to the plate) is at 2406 RPM -- 74th among all pitchers. The higher the spin rate, the harder it is for hitters to square the ball.

 

Second: Eric Pleiss has the minor league report.

 

Lots of tasty nuggets in there including solid pitching performances from Hector Santiago (9 K's in 5.2 innings), Felix Jorge, and there was even a Glen Perkins cameo. Dietrich Enns, who the Twins received in the Jaime Garcia trade, will get his first start in the system in tomorrow’s doubleheader with Rochester.

 

This play happened on Wednesday night but for those who have not seen it, you should take a gander.

 

In the top of the fourth with Rochester trailing the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs 3-0 and a runner on third, Lehigh Valley’s Herlis Rodriguez flies out to Wings’ left fielder Daniel Palka. Palka unloads a rainbow of a throw from the mid-left field as Lehigh Valley’s Brock Stassi tags, then Palka and turns away, presumably in disgust, not wanting to watch Stassi score. The throw has an arc, to be sure, but it lands neatly in Mitch Garver’s mitt in time for him to slap on a tag on the late sliding Stassi.

 

 

 

Did you catch that? Garver executed the decoy to perfection. The bit is to stand as nonchalant as possible to give the runner the impression that there won’t be a play or a close play at the plate. If sold properly, the runner will let his guard down, as Stassi did when he made a late adjustment.

 

Here is a better shot of the play at the plate.

 

The other thing to mention is how Garver quickly blocks the plate with his left foot/leg once he receives the ball. It is a quick turn and suddenly Stassi doesn’t have a plate to touch, just Garver’s giant leg.

 

Third: Not since Jorge Polanco was a 17-year-old in the Gulf Coast League when he hit .250 has the Dominican shortstop had a batting average this low in a professional season. The previous low after that was a respectable .276 in Rochester. While his power and on-base abilities may ebb and flow over the years, Polanco’s batting average has always been robust.

 

Which is what makes this season so confounding. Ted Schwerzler homes in on the issues and finds that he is struggling to match his launch angles and exit velocity from the previous years.

 

An interesting addendum: One of things that StatCast shows is that Polanco isn’t getting the base hits on balls that have the optimal exit velocity (over 85 mph) and launch angle (between 10 and 30 degrees) that he had in 2016.

 

Home: Be sure to sign up today at the Twins Daily Thank You Giveaway.

 

Extra Innings: LET’S TALK ABOUT ADALBERTO MEJIA.

 

In early June, the Twins and Mejia went about tinkering with his mechanics, particularly from the windup. The intent was to quiet his movement and redirected him to more of a north-south delivery.

 

PRE-CHANGE (April 14, 2017):

 

http://i.imgur.com/TnvB54G.gif

 

POST-CHANGE (July 23, 2017):

 

http://i.imgur.com/IES96zt.gif

 

Rather than stepping toward third base into the conventional windup, Mejia is now doing the modified stretch windup, simply making a slight inward turn and going home. Also, instead of raising his hands to eye level and then breaking at his chest, Mejia keeps the ball just above the belt where he breaks his hands. All very quiet and all very smooth. It certainly LOOKS better but how have the results been since the changes?

 

Download attachment: Mejia.PNG

While the runs allowed and ERA are messy, Mejia has allowed fewer hits, fewer walks, and fewer home runs in the windup. Not to mention, more strikeouts and fewer well-hit balls.

 

Mejia is a work in progress but he clearly has talent and the pitches to potentially make this thing work.

 

Random: You should read this Deadspin story about the kid who didn’t die at Riverfront Stadium.

 

Click here to view the article

[Han Joelo]

Nice run down.  As Berrios and Meija learn and grow, I find myself wishing there was a third amigo, or maybe a mate from down under.  Or a bro, like May.  As this thing continues to go south, I hope they give some young guys a legitimate taste.

[terrydactyls]

I loved the way Garver made the tag, gave the umpire the ball and casually walked to the dugout. Just another ho-hum play at the plate.

[yarnivek1972]

It would certainly indicate that Garver has good insticts and savvy behind the dish. Can't really teach that. He really hasn't caught that many games as a pro for a guy his age. If there are flaws in his set up or footwork, they can probably be fixed. But it seems that he clearly knows what he is doing back there.

[Steve Lein]

That "decoy" play from Garver reminds me of some antics I pulled on a softball field.

 

I was playing third and ball was hit to RF, dude came into third and our right-fielder had no business throwing to me to try and beat him there, but he did.

 

I just stood there like I already knew there was no play and the guy on third non-nonchalantly rounded the base a little too far and didn't bother trying to get back on. I caught the ball normally then immediately bare-hand tagged him in the chest a foot off the base. Ump was right there and gave a very satisfying and emphatic you're out motion. 

 

Dude just gave me a look, said a curse word, put his head down and walked back to the duguout.

[Tommygun921]

Twins defense definitely didn't help Mejia. But he still threw way to many pitches and probably had some bad pitch choices.

 

Who would be behind Garver on the Org depth Chart?

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

Who would be behind Garver on the Org depth Chart?

I would vote Castro and Gimenez, personally

[Mike Sixel]

 

I would vote Castro and Gimenez, personally

 

seconded. Let's try it, and see what happens.

[jorgenswest]

I do want to see a Garver, but it is my interest and curiosity.

 

The Twins see him every day. It isn't about the Twins seeing but rather developing. There is so much to learn at catcher. It is likely there are fundamentals that the Twins are pushing this year that they didn't in previous years. The most important result is that he enters next year as fundamentally sound at catcher as possible. If that means four more weeks in AAA, then they need to give him that time.

[Mike Sixel]

 

I do want to see a Garver, but it is my interest and curiosity.

The Twins see him every day. It isn't about the Twins seeing but rather developing. There is so much to learn at catcher. It is likely there are fundamentals that the Twins are pushing this year that they didn't in previous years. The most important result is that he enters next year as fundamentally sound at catcher as possible. If that means four more weeks in AAA, then they need to give him that time.

 

so, just trust the FO? What if it doesn't need 4 more weeks? 

[jorgenswest]

so, just trust the FO? What if it doesn't need 4 more weeks?

 

What is the alternative? Is there anyone here that sees him working on catching daily? I guess I could put my trust with them assuming they have also demonstrated skill in assessing catcher defense.

 

I am concerned that he has not been called up yet. What could be holding him back? It isn't the bat. The Twins are desperate for a right handed bat.

 

While I believe that you can't fully learn how to hit major league pitching in AAA, I don't believe the same for defense. The Twins have had far too many players coming to the majors without being fundamentally sound at their position. In some cases, the player didn't have the talent to play the position.

 

Garver's bat needs to be in majors. If the glove part needs more development at catcher, give him that time. If he isn't close to an average catcher when he arrives, the potential for a league average bat probably won't matter.

[Parker Hageman]

 

I do want to see a Garver, but it is my interest and curiosity.

The Twins see him every day. It isn't about the Twins seeing but rather developing. There is so much to learn at catcher. It is likely there are fundamentals that the Twins are pushing this year that they didn't in previous years. The most important result is that he enters next year as fundamentally sound at catcher as possible. If that means four more weeks in AAA, then they need to give him that time.

 

This spring, the Twins front office were very impressed by Garver's receiving skills. Their Trackman data showed that he had come leaps and bounds from previous season. I have no idea how he stacks up this season but he's more defensively sound than a lot of people think.

 

http://twinsdaily.com/_/minnesota-twins-news/minnesota-twins/report-from-the-fort-saturday-in-the-park-r5397

 

[jorgenswest]

Thanks. Encouraging.

 

Jeff Smith also spoke of Pinto being vastly improved and how he was impressed with his work to do both (offense and defense) while managing him in AA. The did not have trackman data for Pinto in AA.

[Willihammer]

 

Download attachment: Mejia.PNG

While the runs allowed and ERA are messy, Mejia has allowed fewer hits, fewer walks, and fewer home runs in the windup. Not to mention, more strikeouts and fewer well-hit balls.

 

While improved, they're still kinda ugly. Maybe he'd do better from the stretch?

[Mike Sixel]

 

What is the alternative? Is there anyone here that sees him working on catching daily? I guess I could put my trust with them assuming they have also demonstrated skill in assessing catcher defense.

I am concerned that he has not been called up yet. What could be holding him back? It isn't the bat. The Twins are desperate for a right handed bat.

While I believe that you can't fully learn how to hit major league pitching in AAA, I don't believe the same for defense. The Twins have had far too many players coming to the majors without being fundamentally sound at their position. In some cases, the player didn't have the talent to play the position.

Garver's bat needs to be in majors. If the glove part needs more development at catcher, give him that time. If he isn't close to an average catcher when he arrives, the potential for a league average bat probably won't matter.

 

the alternative would be to have a discussion on a discussion board about what we would do.

[Parker Hageman]

 

While improved, they're still kinda ugly. Maybe he'd do better from the stretch?

 

I should mention that those numbers, since making the change, are sort of skewed -- what with the bulk of the runs allowed coming in a start against the Mariners at home (8 ER in 3.2 IP). That being said, there's no doubt he's allowed plenty of extra base hits and a bulk of those have come while he's been throwing from the windup, even after the change. 

 

There no question he has been much better out of the stretch all season. That's one of the reasons the Twins made the adjustment to the modified stretch for his windup. 

 

 

When pitchers or hitters implement changes and have success right away, others take time to adapt to the new methods. While Mejia hasn't quite reach the level of success the FSN broadcast would lead one to believe, he's made improvements in the right away.

 

Bigger picture, whenever I read about pitchers making mechanical adjustments, I'm reminded of this Jake Arrieta quote about concern over mechanics. 

 

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

I do want to see a Garver, but it is my interest and curiosity.

The Twins see him every day. It isn't about the Twins seeing but rather developing. There is so much to learn at catcher. It is likely there are fundamentals that the Twins are pushing this year that they didn't in previous years. The most important result is that he enters next year as fundamentally sound at catcher as possible. If that means four more weeks in AAA, then they need to give him that time.

Which is exactly why the Twins are spotting him in LF and 1B in Rochester?  And not just on his catching off-days -- they've already started him at positions other than catcher in back-to-back games 6 times this year.

 

I get your general sentiment, but this assumes a precision to evaluation and preparation that I don't think exists.

[Willihammer]

 

 

 

 

 

 

I would LOVE if Mejia became more "athletic."

[markos]

 

Thanks. Encouraging.

Jeff Smith also spoke of Pinto being vastly improved and how he was impressed with his work to do both (offense and defense) while managing him in AA. The did not have trackman data for Pinto in AA.

For what it's worth, Baseball Prospectus derived a proxy method for measuring framing without using PitchFX data that correlates pretty closely with their full framing stats. Using that, they had Garver as above-average last year in AA and slightly below-average this year in AAA.

 

Also, their PECOTA projections think he will have ~.740 OPS (roughly league average) in the big leagues right now. 

[jorgenswest]

the alternative would be to have a discussion on a discussion board about what we would do.

My contribution to the discussion is that I value the devopmental time in the minors towards improving his catching skills. Is that not worthy of discussion? Perhaps it would be worthy of discussion if we agreed.

 

I don't want to send Garver back next year to work on catching. His bat as a catcher will be valuable.

[Mike Sixel]

My contribution to the discussion is that I value the devopmental time in the minors towards improving his catching skills. Is that not worthy of discussion? Perhaps it would be worthy of discussion if we agreed.

 

I don't want to send Garver back next year to work on catching. His bat as a catcher will be valuable.

Odds are good he will be sent back, as are most prospects.