Twins 5, Tigers 0: Minnesota Extends Winning Streak With Another Great Ryan Start

[Dman]

Wow!  Don't really know what to say.  Great pitching. Great defense. Good offense.  Good win! Nothing to complain about. 

I will say I thought Ryan might be good but not this good.  He has really upped his game from last year.

[TheLeviathan]

8 hours ago, h2oface said:

It's great to win these last two games, especially since our "stars", Buxton, Correa, and Polanco, are "0'fer Detroit" at the top of the line-up (0-22, 7 Ks, 2 BB). Getting the rest of the team going is key. Maxing out is a good thing. 

Joe Ryan is the ticket.

Hey...remember when you complained we traded Cruz for prospects?  Good times.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

10 hours ago, LastOnePicked said:

I don't think I've ever seen a rookie respond to his weaknesses so quickly. His fastball was a potential liability, so he added pitches and keeps hitters off balance. The entire rotation at this point gives you confidence going into each game. When's the last time we could say that?

Really great statement. "When was the last time we could say that?"  Wow the starters are doing outstanding jobs. I just ordered a screaming goat from Amazon. The theory is that screaming goats bring good luck. Keep screaming Ricky. 

[Monkeypaws]

20 minutes ago, TheLeviathan said:

Hey...remember when you complained we traded Cruz for prospects?  Good times.

Nelson Cruz, the gift that keeps on giving.

[KFEY93]

10 hours ago, LastOnePicked said:

I don't think I've ever seen a rookie respond to his weaknesses so quickly. His fastball was a potential liability, so he added pitches and keeps hitters off balance. The entire rotation at this point gives you confidence going into each game. When's the last time we could say that?

Im still holding my breath and waiting until its sunny and 75+ on a consistent basis at the ball park before I feel comfortable with anyone in the starting rotation other than Ryan. 

[ashbury]

That 'missile' descriptor in the Twitter feed is a new one for me.

[Trov]

I know still early in his MLB career but I am very impressed with everything I see from Joe Ryan.  He gets it done with location, movement, and throwing all his pitches for strikes.  His FB is not overpowering, but because he gets the rise type movement he strikes out so many people on it.  Now, will hitters learn to adjust as his career goes on and they see him more often, maybe.  However, the early returns on the trade to get him is a huge win for Twins.  We gave a up a guy that had no value to us last year, at the end of his contract, for a guy we will have for 6 years minimum, barring any trades, and has looked great. 

 

[Eris]

11 hours ago, terrydactyls said:

I don't think Tampa Bay will ever try to make a trade with the Twins again.

It does make you wonder what the Rays were thinking. His minor league numbers look good. His negatives are that he only had two pitches and at 25 years he is a little old for a prospect. 
 

The general MLB philosophy is that someone with 2 pitches can only be a reliever and therefore expendable in a trade. I am wondering what Wes Johnson’s contributions to his success are.  Also, if memory serves me correctly, Brad Radke only had 2 pitches  

 

[The_Phantom]

BTW, the last time the Twins had a winning streak of 7 or more was June of 2011. I'd say it's time that drought is broken

 

[minman1982]

While walk off wins are exciting, it was nice to have a boring win for a change.  Joe Ryan completely dominated the Tigers and it felt like the Twins were in complete control from start to finish.  If this is going to be a team with aspirations of postseason success, this is what needs to happen when we play mediocre to bad teams, like the Tigers.  It would be nice to complete the sweep today and bring a seven game winning streak to Tampa on Friday. 

The Rays should prove to be a more capable opponent so this will be a good test for the Twins.  If the Twins can look competitive over the weekend, maybe this team is for real.  If they get their butts handed to them, we will know that the AL Central just stinks.  If the Twins look dominant in Tampa, maybe they enter the conversation of legitimately good teams.  I would be happy to see them not get swept over the weekend.  1-2 against a probably superior opponent at their home field is nothing to be embarrassed about.

[LA VIkes Fan]

3 hours ago, Datwinsdude said:

The team we put on the field last night is the best defensive unit the twins have fielded in a long, long  time.  Kiriloff moving in at first would be the only improvement I could see defensively.  I think we can stop wringing our hands about not having an ace starting pitcher.  Go Joe Cool!  

I'm with you. Better defense means better pitching and Ryan used it last night. I love the idea of getting Arraez in the lineup at 1B or DH and only  occasionally in the infield. Keep Correa, Polanco and Urshela in the infield as much as we can - all 3 are waaaay above average at their positions and really help these guys out. 

[Loops]

And all this without Sano in the lineup! 

[Squirrel]

43 minutes ago, LA VIkes Fan said:

Better defense means better pitching and Ryan used it last night… Keep Correa, Polanco and Urshela in the infield as much as we can - all 3 are waaaay above average at their positions and really help these guys out. 

During the off-season, when FA starting pitchers were going off the market and it looked like we were going with trades, youngsters and/or reclamation projects, many of us were then focussed on, ‘Okay, then, they’d better get a stellar defense in place.’ While the pitching has been so much better than expected, not enough can be said of the defense. That play of Correa’s last night, and Urshela’s the night before … wow. Even the pitchers, in interviews, have commented how much a boost it is to them to have that defense behind them. While Correa’s bat needs to finally show itself, his defense is a difference maker. And I thought we were going to miss Donaldson. As much as I was upset they traded him, and as much as I like Donaldson as a player, I’m saying to myself, ‘Donaldson who?’ Defense matters … right, @nicksaviking? ??

[Dman]

1 hour ago, Eris said:

It does make you wonder what the Rays were thinking. His minor league numbers look good. His negatives are that he only had two pitches and at 25 years he is a little old for a prospect. 
 

The general MLB philosophy is that someone with 2 pitches can only be a reliever and therefore expendable in a trade. I am wondering what Wes Johnson’s contributions to his success are.  Also, if memory serves me correctly, Brad Radke only had 2 pitches  

 

If you read Fangraphs and other outlets no one knew what to make of him since there was no precedent for a pitcher having so much success throwing like 80% fastballs in the minors.  The consensus seemed to be that wouldn't fly in the majors.  They also had his secondary pitches rated average at best.  While Fangraphs didn't rule out his ability to start they felt there was a fair bit of reliever risk.

So odds were that the Twins were getting two good reliever arms in Strotman and Ryan. Some thought Strotman might even be the better pitcher because of the greater velocity and pitch mix.  Both had potential to start but seemed destined for the pen or 5th starter status at best.  So you can see why Tampa made the trade IMO.

Also there must have been a bit of bidding war for Cruz because I was surprised the Twins got two arms like that for 6 months of Cruz and I believe both arms were rated in the top 10 to 15 range in Tampa's system.  It always seemed like a good trade just that the odds were slim that Ryan would turn up the secondary's and be this good.  Seems like one of those rare occasions where things actually work out on the high end instead of the low end of a projection.

 

[jmlease1]

23 minutes ago, Dman said:

If you read Fangraphs and other outlets no one knew what to make of him since there was no precedent for a pitcher having so much success throwing like 80% fastballs in the minors.  The consensus seemed to be that wouldn't fly in the majors.  They also had his secondary pitches rated average at best.  While Fangraphs didn't rule out his ability to start they felt there was a fair bit of reliever risk.

So odds were that the Twins were getting two good reliever arms in Strotman and Ryan. Some thought Strotman might even be the better pitcher because of the greater velocity and pitch mix.  Both had potential to start but seemed destined for the pen or 5th starter status at best.  So you can see why Tampa made the trade IMO.

Also there must have been a bit of bidding war for Cruz because I was surprised the Twins got two arms like that for 6 months of Cruz and I believe both arms were rated in the top 10 to 15 range in Tampa's system.  It always seemed like a good trade just that the odds were slim that Ryan would turn up the secondary's and be this good.  Seems like one of those rare occasions where things actually work out on the high end instead of the low end of a projection.

 

Fangraphs had Strotman at #17 and Ryan at #18 in their 2021 TB prospect rankings

KLaw had Ryan at #13, and Strotman outside the top 20 (based on mention he was probably 25-30?) in his 2021 TB prospect rankings.

I think part of it was TB's system was so deep they had a 40-man crunch to deal with as well, so they probably felt comfortable with an "overpay" that was from outside their top 10, because they were at risk of losing someone anyways in the next Rule V draft. I suspect they looked at Ryan as a guy who they questioned how he would play up at the MLB level if he was so fastball dependent and Strotman as destined for the bullpen who was outside their top 20.

I think TB missed on Ryan, and they're probably digging in on it. Because Ryan's secondary offerings were better than advertised on arrival, and his slider development this season has been tremendous. 

Of course, it's still April, and guys have had hot starts before and fallen off. But points to the twins scouting for identifying Ryan as a gettable pitcher in the deep Rays system, and the team for doing good work with him to continue his refinement as a player.

[Monkeypaws]

 

Joe Ryan doesn’t give up a lot of hits, and strikes out a lot of batters, 2 of my favorite old-school stats.

Over parts of 3 minor league seasons, from his debut to last season: 226 IP, 143 H, 325K

Those are crazy great numbers.

MLB so far: 50IP, 26H, 55K.

He also keeps the walks under control. WHIP the last 3 years: .841, .788 minors, .788 majors, and .this season’s absurd .696.

 

Who knows, maybe he’s getting better!

[minman1982]

3 hours ago, LA VIkes Fan said:

I'm with you. Better defense means better pitching and Ryan used it last night. I love the idea of getting Arraez in the lineup at 1B or DH and only  occasionally in the infield. Keep Correa, Polanco and Urshela in the infield as much as we can - all 3 are waaaay above average at their positions and really help these guys out. 

If you are a pitcher and you can trust your defense to make the routine plays and make a couple spectacular plays mixed in, it gives you a lot more confidence to throw the pitches you want to throw.  If you can trust your infield to do their job, you don't need to try to strike everyone out.  Correa and Urshela are definitely improvements on the defensive side of the ball.  Polanco seems much more comfortable at second than at shortstop.  I would be fine with going with Arraez/Kiriloff (when he returns) at 1B, Polanco at 2B, Correa at SS, and Urshela at 3B as the normal defensive alignment.