Joe Ryan and Byron Buxton Highlight an Eventful Night at CHS Field

[jkcarew]

Wow…lots of definitive opinions based on watching 4 innings.

The swings and misses are encouraging. I’m pretty sure we’ll see him this year.

If I were Buxton and had been out as long as he has, I’d want to see some AAA PA’s…not a lot, but some, before stepping in against the Major leaguers.

[bean5302]

In regard to Buxton... let's say the Twins immediately put him into MLB action and Buxton flails away for the first week until he gets up to speed. It drops his performance on the season or he aggravates his knuckle and the Twins have to put him back on the IL. The Twins are pointing at that performance in arbitration. It just doesn't look good to potentially make your players look bad.

[bean5302]

6 hours ago, DocBauer said:

This is not directed at anyone, just a comment I have to state in general terms. Everyone just needs to stop focusing on the ages of prospects. Guys are ready when they are ready, whether it be 22yo or 25yo-ish. What matters is what they do when they arrive. But we all have to remember, using Ryan as an example, a 25yo SP is really a 24yo in regard to development time. And that's the same for all of our prospects, pitchers or position players. 

You just can't dismiss an entire lost season of experience and development even if some kids were at reserve sites in 2020. You just can't dismiss what was lost.

As far as Ryan in particular, I'm very excited about him. The FB, location and presence seems legit. Like ANY young pitcher, he's going to have to harness his other offerings. In the 1st inning video clip I saw an amazing change, a bad one, and one that probably should have been called a strike.

I want to see the kid getting his feet wet before this year is done. I think there's a reasonable chance we will. But he needs time to get his feet/legs/head re-acclimated. He quit being a milb pitcher over a month ago to prepare for the Olympics. He traveled almost half a world away to do so, got traded to a different organization while there, comes back a half a world distance, and gets a single start at this point. I don't care how much boxy the kid has, that's a LOT to deal with in a month plus time frame. How about we just let him settle in for another start or two and then talk about a promotion to dip his feet in the Ml pool?

I don't know who looks at ages alone, but ages are important when evaluating prospect potential because elite players generally develop quickly. While Twins fans may view 24 as young, it's not. Elite pitcher take 1-3 years to make MLB. That's age 20-23, generally. Joe Ryan, even having missed a year, is still older than a typical elite pitching prospect... and he was traded by a team with renown for developing starting pitching and promoting their prospects to MLB aggressively for a rental DH so tempering expectations is reasonable.

That said, I like Ryan a lot. His performance has been very impressive and I think he will be a good piece in the Twins' starting rotation.

[joefish]

If not Ryan, bring "somebodies" else up who might be part of this team's future. Give us a reason to believe our future has hope. 

 

[prouster]

Where are these anti-rehab takes coming from? Rehab assignments have been SOP for every single team in the league for decades. It’s not some “math boy” thing the Twins just invented. Honestly, the only reason I can think of that a person would complain about it is that they haven’t been watching baseball for very long. 
 

Edit: I should say that’s the charitable explanation that comes to mind. 

[USAFChief]

1 hour ago, prouster said:

Where are these anti-rehab takes coming from? Rehab assignments have been SOP for every single team in the league for decades. It’s not some “math boy” thing the Twins just invented. Honestly, the only reason I can think of that a person would complain about it is that they haven’t been watching baseball for very long. 
 

Edit: I should say that’s the charitable explanation that comes to mind. 

I have watched a lot of baseball, and I question the need for a "rehab" assignment for a position player. I understand it's been pretty much SOP forever, but what is gained? 15 ABs in ST Paul doesn't "prepare" Buxton for anything. 

 

I can understand a starting pitcher who needs a few starts to "stretch out," but a position player? Those 15 ABs might as well be in MPLS.  They make zero difference in getting a player "ready."

[prouster]

4 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

I have watched a lot of baseball, and I question the need for a "rehab" assignment for a position player. I understand it's been pretty much SOP forever, but what is gained? 15 ABs in ST Paul doesn't "prepare" Buxton for anything. 

 

I can understand a starting pitcher who needs a few starts to "stretch out," but a position player? Those 15 ABs might as well be in MPLS. 

It takes a few games for hitters to get their timing back. These guys take pride in what they do. If I was in their position, I’d want to take some hacks against lesser competition before doing it in real games. I just don’t understand how someone could object to this, unless they only see players as something like automatons who are only useful as long as they entertain us.