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Maeda


4twinsJA

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I want to go on record as saying that I called it. See paragraph 8:

 

http://twinsdaily.com/topic/35563-2020-blueprint-cooking-up-a-championship/

I wish the deal had involved Romero like you said instead of Graterol.

 

You also failed to call the Coronavirus back in November when you had the chance to really impress everyone. :)

 

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I hated to lose Graterol. All of us did. And best of luck to him, except when it comes to affecting the Twins in any way.

 

But you have to give up something good to get something good back. Period.

 

I love the addition of Maeda. I think he is GOOD! And I've seen nothing to dissuade my opinion of his acquisition. But I've always chuckled at some of the hyperbole that came with him as if the Twins grabbed some kind of potential ACE or stud.

 

Maeda is a legitimate, experienced, quality SP who slots in the number 2 or 3 or 4 spot just depending on Hill and what he has left in the tank. And that is NOT a negative comment on his ability in the slightest!

 

Hill, healthy, as he appears to be, is a FRONT LINE SP for a half season, as he has been for the past 5-6yrs of his career. Well, we're only asking for half a season in 2020. Odorizzi was a deserving All Star last season who had his best year yet under Rocco and Johnson. So with Oddo healthy and ready to go soon, that doesn't diminish Maeda and his ability and potential, it just signals he's not a #1 starter, just a really, really good one amongst a group of really good starters.

 

Berrios remains the Twins #1 and is still a potential ACE in the making. He threw some nasty stuff in his first start but seemed to overthrow, probably hyped up. I actually think...and Bonnes brought this up after the game...he's probably better throwing 92-95 vs 97 for movement and "nastiness". He is a deserved 2 time All Star who's only problem is a late season fade. And here we go with a broken/stuck record again, but he rebounded in 2019 after making some adjustments. He was going to make further adjustments in 2020 but now it's a short season so we won't see the results until 2021.

 

But if you think he isn't a top of the rotation SP with potential, even after a no win total in 2 games in 2020, then you're not paying enough attention or just lamenting he's not already the next BIG THING.

 

Maeda is GOOD. I'm glad we got him. Our depth is tremendous, and a bullpen that rivals anyone. If pitching is king, then how about really good, really solid SP to begin with. I think we have that and Maeda is part of that.

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I am really excited to see what Maeda can do for the Twins, I think he is being slept on some.  The trade hurt but it benefited both teams needs.  

 

He gets flak/ undervalued for getting used in the pen by LA but its understandable considering their playoff circumstances.  Maeda was the 4th or 5th starter in their deep rotation, on a contract that incentivized limiting his innings, oh and also his numbers show he is pure death on right handed hitters.  That profile combined with a new age/ forward thinking approach led the Dodgers to use him in the pen to nuke righties and/or throw multiple innings come playoff time. 

 

Here he can be one of the top 3 starters without ever worrying about being used in the pen, meaning he can focus on starting and be rewarded with reaching his contract incentives and building value for his next deal.  He also fits into the Berrios/ Odorizzi/ Hill mold of a starter that is going to be super boosted by the deep bull pen limiting his innings and third/ fourth times vs a lineup.

 

This team has one massive gaping flaw, an ace.  But Berrios/ Odorizzi/ Hill/ Maeda are all potentially solid 2's with a deep pen to bolster them in the playoffs. 

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I hated to lose Graterol but when he wasn’t mentioned as one of the possible fifth starter candidates along with Dobnak, Smeltzer and Thorpe, the writing was on the wall that he likely was done being a starter. Great trade. I love that he’s in the NL as there’s really no reason to feel conflicted about him having success.

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How's Maeda doing compared to Wheeler, Ryu and Bumgarner?
Was a good trade for both clubs. Just glad we didn't force things and spend big $ on those other 3.

 

Wheeler was pretty good in his one start. Bumgarner hasn't been bad. Ryu has been bad, but may be injured. 

 

Not disagreeing with you, just way to early to tell.

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Wheeler was pretty good in his one start. Bumgarner hasn't been bad. Ryu has been bad, but may be injured. 

 

Not disagreeing with you, just way to early to tell.

 

Bumgarner has an average fastball velocity of 87.9 so far. That's . . . yikes, so bad. There's a very real chance he is finished as a mid-rotation starter, or hurt. It's like everyone had been asleep for 3 years and didn't notice Bumgarner is a finesse lefty with mediocre stuff and significant injuries in 2 of the past 3 years. He never seemed appealing to me at all. Ryu's fastball is also down significantly. 

 

Picking up one of those guys was treated on here like an obvious move . . . basically as if it was grossly negligent to miss out on them. Surprise, the Twins were careful for a reason. 

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Of course, you could pan the Donaldson move if you were dying to.

Anyhow, so far, through one start, Maeda did well.

Quick intervention by the accuracy police: Maeda's had two starts.

11 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 12 SO.

 

And he's not on the DL, a welcome change from other recent additions to the team.

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