Article: Twins Select RHP Ryan Pressly in Rule 5 Draft

[Seth Stohs]

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?1229-Twins-Select-RHP-Ryan-Pressly-in-Rule-5-Draft

[chagen]

Ain't no stopping us now! I suppose Jim Pohlad couldn't eat breakfast this morning since it costs 50,000 to be in the Rule 5 draft!

[bird]

Is that all you have to add to the conversation, chagen?

[chagen]

Is that all you have to add to the conversation, chagen?

 

Scouting Report: Pressly has a polished delivery with excellent balance and a consistent release point. Doesn't create much drive out of his delivery and is shorter with his arm extension. Features a four-seam fastball that sits 90-91 mph and occasionally tops out at 93 MPH. Primarily relies on a cutter that sits 84-87 mph with inward break on lefties. Can leave it in middle of the plate too much. Secondary pitches include a mid-70s 11-to-5 curveball and an 80-82 mph changeup. Creates good arm speed and deception when throwing his change, with it fading away from righties and in on lefties. His changeup doesn't have a lot of separation from his cutter, but can play well off his four-seam fastball. Pressly's curve can be sharp at times, but he is still developing consistent feel for the pitch and needs to work it more into sequences.

 

There you are i added this to the Conversation! hope that helps watching bird man

[bird]

This adds some competition for Alex Burnett I guess. Wasn't expecting them to find the type of talent worthy of being stashed on the roster a la Johann.

[bird]

Thank you, Mr. Hagen, much obliged.

[Guest USAFChief]

Lets just hope this pick is as astute as the Terry Doyle pick was last year.

[ltwedt]

"The Twins did not lose any players in the MLB portion of the Rule 5 draft."

 

So . . . Is that a good thing, or a bad thing? I mean, does it reflect the fact that the Twins don't have anyone that any other MLB team is interested in? Or, are the Twins just crafty enough to somehow protect the players that another team could be interested in?

 

Seems like often the more I know, the less I know!!

[Guest USAFChief]

BTW...is he a "22 year old" or "about to turn 24?"

[Winston Smith]

Twins lost 195 games the last 2 years. My guess is they don't have good players rather than them being "crafty" and somehow protecting them.

[John Bonnes]

Seems like a "C" prospect to me.

 

Actually, he doesn't. The most damning thing about his stats that I can see is that at the end of this year, being used only as a reliever, he struck out 21 in 27 innings at AA. In fact, he's bounced between starter and reliever throughout his minor league career. So even the hope that his stuff will be amped up out of the 'pen seems unfounded. He is the longest of shots to stay with the team this year, IMHO.

 

It might just be that the Rule 5 just isn't worth paying attention to any more. Or it might just be that the Twins, who have had the #2 and #4 picks the last two years and come up with almost nothing, just don't know how to really take advantage of it any more.

 

Can anyone remember of any Rule 5 picks from last year for any team that look like they're going to be worthwhile?

[John Bonnes]

BTW...is he a "22 year old" or "about to turn 24?"

 

I caught that too, and fixed it, probably while you were commenting. He was 23 years old last year.

 

(Also, just a point of grammar to all you budding writers out there: if that phrase is being used as a noun or adjective, it should have hyphens. So the 23-year-old or the 23-year-old pitcher will be turning 24 years old.)

[TRex]

Pressly turns 24 next week. If you want to see the action on his pitches in the AFL, you can view the games he pitched in vs. the Twins prospects at Peoria on Oct. 9, 19 and 22.

 

In these games he used mainly his FB (93-96) and curve (79-82). He has had a very good groundball rate in the past, and he seems to have good downward plane on his fastball, but he was leaving quite a bit up in the zone in these three games.

[notoriousgod71]

Seems like a typical Twins pitcher.

[Guest USAFChief]

2011:

 

Seattle took LH reliever Lucas Luetge, who tossed 40 innings out of their pen with an ERA around 4 and over 8 K/9.

 

Baltimore took 3b Ryan Flaherty, 77 games, .216/.258/.359

 

those were the 2 picks immediately after the Twins.

[roger]

See he was a starter last year at high A ball, then a reliever when he moved up to AA. If they like him in spring training, see him stashed in the bullpen as the long relief guy. The hope would be that he get some time in AAA in 2014 and hopefully beccomming a member of the rotation later that year. If he does work out in spring training, he could replace Swarzak's role with Swarzak moving to either short relief, a starter or be moved in a trade.

[nicksaviking]

Seems like a "C" prospect to me.

 

Can anyone remember of any Rule 5 picks from last year for any team that look like they're going to be worthwhile?

 

 

Yeah, Lucas Luetge was a pretty useful arm for the Mariners last year.

[Jim Crikket]

BTW...is he a "22 year old" or "about to turn 24?"

 

I caught that too, and fixed it, probably while you were commenting. He was 23 years old last year.

 

(Also, just a point of grammar to all you budding writers out there: if that phrase is being used as a noun or adjective, it should have hyphens. So the 23-year-old or the 23-year-old pitcher will be turning 24 years old.)

 

Skipping year 23 isn't unheard of. I was closing down bars at age 22, passed out in an alley, and when I woke up I was 24, married and working in an office cubicle. Weird stuff happens at 23.

 

This pick is defninitely a yawner. But let's be honest, anyone available in the Rule 5 is iffy, at best. With Boston drafting a Twins minor leaguer later, maybe there's a shot at simply trading one for the other and allowing both teams to keep the players they drafted even if they don't greatly impress.

[louisschaff]

Why is everyone down about this pick? Sure there's about a 10% chance that he sticks all year and becomes valuable but every player available has significant issues. The Astros had their pick of anyone and selected a guy who walks 6/9. We were all mad when the Twins sent Bullock to Atl for Diamond.

[Guest USAFChief]

Just in this thread he's gone from 90-91 to 93-96. At this rate, by spring training we'll have another Sidd Finch on our hands.

[Musk21]

 

It might just be that the Rule 5 just isn't worth paying attention to any more. Or it might just be that the Twins, who have had the #2 and #4 picks the last two years and come up with almost nothing, just don't know how to really take advantage of it any more.

 

Can anyone remember of any Rule 5 picks from last year for any team that look like they're going to be worthwhile?

 

Here are the picks from the 2011 version (via MLB.com):

 

HOU: Rhiner Cruz, RHP, Buffalo (NYM)

MIN: Terry Doyle, RHP, Charlotte (CWS)

SEA: Lucas Luetge, LHP, Nashville (MIL)

BAL: Ryan Flaherty, 2B, Iowa (CHC)

KC: Cesar Cabral, LHP, Pawtucket (BOS)

CHC: Lendy Castillo, RHP, Lehigh Valley (PHI)

PIT: Gustavo Nunez, SS, Toledo (DET)

ATL: Robert Fish, LHP, Salt Lake (LAA)

STL: Erik Komatsu, OF, Syracuse (WAS)

BOS: Marwin Gonzalez, SS, Iowa (CHC)

ARI: Brett Lorin, RHP, Indianapolis (PIT)

NYY: Brad Meyers, RHP, Syracuse (WAS)

 

Does anyone ring a bell other than Komatsu?

 

Pressly seems like a pretty big meh pick. A 5.0 K/9 in 130 IP in 2011? I think you might be right about this that maybe the Rule 5 draft just isn't what it used to be.

[diehardtwinsfan]

I can think of worse picks... This is the type of guy you can stash in the pen and him not be a complete liability to the team and then send him down next season. Whether or not he can ever develop into a decent starter remains to be seen, but this isn't a bad option either.

[PopRiveter]

In a way, the Twins just picked up Anthony Slama in the rule 5 draft. In a more accurate way, that is false, but I will pretend it is true.

[Seth Stohs]

Ryan Flaherty got a lot of playing time for that Orioles team. He'll likely split time with Casilla at 2B next year.

[johnnydakota]

I do not understand how we passed on selecting a 2nd pick?

Lara who hits 98 mph lhr was still avalible and reports have him pitching well in relief in winter ball

[ScottyB]

I asked this in the live Rule 5 thread but no one is reading that any more. So my question is ...

 

Who the heck was the guy we lost in the AAA portion. I can't find him on any roster.

 

Also is Mark Sobolewski who we picked in the AAA phase (a good defensive 3B who hit 20 HR) the addition to push Plouffe?

[John Bonnes]

I do not understand how we passed on selecting a 2nd pick?

Lara who hits 98 mph lhr was still avalible and reports have him pitching well in relief in winter ball

 

Apparently, John Manuel identified two guys who he thought were the top two on the board, both of which had that kind of stuff. Lara was one of them and Domingez(?) was the other. Neither was picked, not by the Twins, not by anyone.

 

I'm not busting on Manuel, or on the Twins, or on the other GMs. I think it just shows that there is a lot of unknowns in this process. But I'd sure be a lot more excited about a big arm like that than I ame about Pressly, FWIW.

[johnnydakota]

I do not understand how we passed on selecting a 2nd pick?

Lara who hits 98 mph lhr was still avalible and reports have him pitching well in relief in winter ball

 

Apparently, John Manuel identified two guys who he thought were the top two on the board, both of which had that kind of stuff. Lara was one of them and Domingez(?) was the other. Neither was picked, not by the Twins, not by anyone.

 

I'm not busting on Manuel, or on the Twins, or on the other GMs. I think it just shows that there is a lot of unknowns in this process. But I'd sure be a lot more excited about a big arm like that than I ame about Pressly, FWIW.

 

I just thought Lara could compete with Robertson as the twins 3rd lefty ,

or maybe able to trade to keep him in our system

[Otwins]

I do not understand how we passed on selecting a 2nd pick?

Lara who hits 98 mph lhr was still avalible and reports have him pitching well in relief in winter ball

 

Apparently, John Manuel identified two guys who he thought were the top two on the board, both of which had that kind of stuff. Lara was one of them and Domingez(?) was the other. Neither was picked, not by the Twins, not by anyone.

 

I'm not busting on Manuel, or on the Twins, or on the other GMs. I think it just shows that there is a lot of unknowns in this process. But I'd sure be a lot more excited about a big arm like that than I ame about Pressly, FWIW.

 

I think Lara was picked in the second round by Marlins. It does seem like that type of pick has more potential

[nicksaviking]

Well if a team had a lot of room on the 40-man (and the Twins do) there's no reason not to snag mulitple players and let them compete in ST to see if either are worthy, you don't have to keep them all, you just have to be OK with spending approximately what a linebacker gets fined for a helmet to helmet hit in the NFL.