Article: Big Night for the Twins: Arcia, Pressly, Gibson & More

[Seth Stohs]

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?r=1686-Big-Night-for-the-Twins-Arcia-Pressly-Gibson-More

[Brodin4Calder]

Its awesome to see Gibson doing so well, we need a guy that can throw the ball hard in our roto. Im sick of seeing 89mph fastballs getting crushed to all fields, I dont think we have one starter that can get close to mid 90s like Gibson. We have alot of great young arms that im super excited to see. Gibson, Meyer and Borrios could all be great. Hopefully to Twins draft Manaea too.

[glunn]

A great night and a great article. Last year we had only great articles.

[Carneal&Gordon]

Great article, what a night!

 

This team is about to takeoff offensively

[roger]

Seth, I have a prediction of sorts. When Mastroianni is ready to come off the DL, do the Twins send Hicks to Rochester rather than Arcia?

 

I have been most impressed with the adjustments Arcia has made in several games against top pitchers. The other night he struck out in his first at bat against Buchholz. He then had several solid at bats later in the game against one of the league's best. Have seen this in several games recently which is an indication that he should continue to get better as the year goes on.

 

Even though Hicks is hitting a bit better, they may want to make a point about his defensive lapses and give him a chance to collect his thoughts and gain some experience in AAA. Could start Mastroianni in center with Ramirez available to pinch hit. Would keep getting Arcia playing time at the expense of Parmelee, Doumit and whomever.

 

Do you think this is possible?

[troyhobbs]

They have to send Hicks down over Arcia don't they? Hicks is the future but isn't playing like a quality big leaguer to this point, Arcia is.

[Seth Stohs]

Can't imagine Mastroianni coming off the DL and being thrust into everyday duty. I hope Garcia is sent down for a week to get him over 20 days in the minors to hold his free agency back a year. Then bring him back and send Hicks down.

[cmathewson]

I don't think Mastro will ever be ready for everyday duty. He hasn't been an everyday player for a few years, even in the minors. He's great as a fourth outfielder, though. I'd send Wilkin down before either Hicks or Arcia. I think those two can learn a lot more up here with Bruno as their coach than they can down in Rochester, not the least of which is the pitchers up here.

[Brock Beauchamp]

"Expectations coming into the season were that the Twins offense could be very good."

 

I'd say that's a bit of an exaggeration. It seems most of us "optimists" thought the offense would be somewhere in the "acceptable" range. Outside of the most pie-in-the-sky homers, I think most of us saw a regression from Willingham and the loss of Span hurting the offense over the course of 162 games. Sure, that could be offset by an uptick from Plouffe and Morneau but overall, I think the best case scenario is something close to the 2012 offense output.

[twinscowboysbulls]

Send down Ramirez, instead of Hicks or Arcia, PLEASE.

[Brock Beauchamp]

Send down Ramirez, instead of Hicks or Arcia, PLEASE.

 

I don't understand even entertaining the thought of sending Arcia back to Rochester.

 

Hicks is more of a mixed bag... He's definitely been better in the past two weeks and is posting a .704 OPS in May (only ~25 PAs so SSS). Still, I think you have to let him ride this "hot streak" and see if it continues.

 

Give him until the end of the month and then reconsider.

[ThePuck]

"Expectations coming into the season were that the Twins offense could be very good."

 

I'd say that's a bit of an exaggeration. It seems most of us "optimists" thought the offense would be somewhere in the "acceptable" range. Outside of the most pie-in-the-sky homers, I think most of us saw a regression from Willingham and the loss of Span hurting the offense over the course of 162 games. Sure, that could be offset by an uptick from Plouffe and Morneau but overall, I think the best case scenario is something close to the 2012 offense output.

 

exactly. I remember saying that the offense was gonna take a hit with the loss of our #1 and #2 hitters. Never for a moment did I think our offense would be 'very good.'

[Brock Beauchamp]

exactly. I remember saying that the offense was gonna take a hit with the loss of our #1 and #2 hitters. Never for a moment did I think our offense would be 'very good.'

 

The Twins had a #2 hitter last season?

 

I don't consider Revere a "loss". Somebody would be able to step in and replace or surpass his relatively meager output in 2012. Looks like that guy is Arcia.

 

Losing Span was definitely a blow, though.

[ThePuck]

The Twins had a #2 hitter last season?

 

I don't consider Revere a "loss". Somebody would be able to step in and replace or surpass his relatively meager output in 2012. Looks like that guy is Arcia.

 

Losing Span was definitely a blow, though.

 

The .333 OBP that vacated the #2 spot was enough of a loss we now have to use our #3 hitter in the #2 spot...and the ripple down that causes.

[Brock Beauchamp]

The .333 OBP that vacated the #2 spot was enough of a loss we now have to use our #3 hitter in the #2 spot...and the ripple down that causes.

 

1. It's not that difficult to replace a .333 OBP, particularly when it is accompanied by a .342 slugging percentage.

 

2. Some of that is offset just by moving your 3, 4, 5 and 6 hitters to the the 2, 3, 4 and 5 slots.

 

Replacing Revere's offense is not a challenge, especially considering the outfielders in the farm system.

[Monkeypaws]

Kind of interesting that the two best pitching performances for the Twins in Boston have come from Rule 5 draftees.

[jokin]

I don't think Mastro will ever be ready for everyday duty. He hasn't been an everyday player for a few years, even in the minors. He's great as a fourth outfielder, though. I'd send Wilkin down before either Hicks or Arcia. I think those two can learn a lot more up here with Bruno as their coach than they can down in Rochester, not the least of which is the pitchers up here.

 

But then, Arcia would no longer have his interpreter. If Florimon or Escobar are nominated to take over, something is bound to get lost in the translation.

[jokin]

The .333 OBP that vacated the #2 spot was enough of a loss we now have to use our #3 hitter in the #2 spot...and the ripple down that causes.

 

The only ripple down I see in the stats is from the leadoff spot. Here's the slash line that ranks worst in the league for that place in the order:

 

.197/.246/.242/.488

 

And that number is way up due to Dozier and Carroll replacing Hicks.

 

Here's what's actually happened over the season and in May:

 

Mauer OPS .846 May OPS .1156

Willingham OPS .877 May OPS .657

 

Morneau OPS .684 May OPS .673

Parmelee OPS .611 May OPS .678

 

Plouffe OPS .793 May OPS .1125

Doumit OPS .713 May OPS .1136

Arcia OPS .810 May OPS .1023

 

Hicks OPS .441 May OPS .704

Dozier OPS .607 May OPS .598

 

Florimon OPS .663 May OPS .778

 

To reiterate, I don't see a ripple down effect from moving Mauer up. What I do see is no solid plan, only hope, from management that somehow a reliable leadoff hitter would rise to the challenge and take the spot.

 

Of their own accord, Morneau clearly isn't carrying his weight, Parmelee still has the jury out with his streakiness, while Hicks and Dozier have a ways to go to be considered decent major leaguers.

 

The other 6 players listed in the order above are well on their way to having anywhere from career-norm to career-best seasons at the plate.

[cmathewson]

But then, Arcia would no longer have his interpreter. If Florimon or Escobar are nominated to take over, something is bound to get lost in the translation.

 

Maybe the Twins could hire a translator? Or we can continue to have interviews like Florimon's in the post game show last night:

 

"What's it like playing in Fenway park with the atmosphere and the fans and the history of the ballpark?"

 

"I just try not to do too much. I just put a good swing on de ball and it go out."

 

Entertaining stuff.

[jokin]

I give Pedro all the credit in the world for going out there and at least trying. But somehow, I think this is the only complete phrase he's mastered, given he used it 5 times. ( if you got "I just put a good swing on de ball..." from anything else he said, you might want to apply for Wilkin's job! )

 

 

I just try not to do too much....

 

....I just try not to do too much...

 

....I just try not to do too much...

 

....I just try not to do too much...

 

....I just try not to do too much...

[ThePuck]

The only ripple down I see in the stats is from the leadoff spot. Here's the slash line that ranks worst in the league for that place in the order:

 

.197/.246/.242/.488

 

And that number is way up due to Dozier and Carroll replacing Hicks.

 

Here's what's actually happened over the season and in May:

 

Mauer OPS .846 May OPS .1156

Willingham OPS .877 May OPS .657

 

Morneau OPS .684 May OPS .673

Parmelee OPS .611 May OPS .678

 

Plouffe OPS .793 May OPS .1125

Doumit OPS .713 May OPS .1136

Arcia OPS .810 May OPS .1023

 

Hicks OPS .441 May OPS .704

Dozier OPS .607 May OPS .598

 

Florimon OPS .663 May OPS .778

 

To reiterate, I don't see a ripple down effect from moving Mauer up. What I do see is no solid plan, only hope, from management that somehow a reliable leadoff hitter would rise to the challenge and take the spot.

 

Of their own accord, Morneau clearly isn't carrying his weight, Parmelee still has the jury out with his streakiness, while Hicks and Dozier have a ways to go to be considered decent major leaguers.

 

The other 6 players listed in the order above are well on their way to having anywhere from career-norm to career-best seasons at the plate.

 

I'm talking about how it's affected the lineup from last year to this year. Mauer has ONLY batted 2nd this year. I read somewhere, maybe in here, that we have one of the worst heart of the order 3/4/5 in baseball stats-wise. Do you remember seeing that in here?

[jokin]

I'm talking about how it's affected the lineup from last year to this year. Mauer has ONLY batted 2nd this year. I read somewhere, maybe in here, that we have one of the worst heart of the order 3/4/5 in baseball stats-wise. Do you remember seeing that in here?

 

Morneau is having a poor year. But the 2 guys immediately batting above him in the order are more than doing their jobs by getting on base and OPSing at very high rates. To this point, the 1, 4-5 men in the order haven't done their jobs well, at all, with the 9-hole marginally higher.

 

Here's the Batting Order OPS:

 

#1 .489

#2 .842

#3 .843

#4 .633

#5 .608

#6 .891

#7 .817

#8 .588

#9 .690

 

 

2012 OPS

 

#1 .691

#2 .650

#3 .838

#4 .803

#5 .858

#6 .704

#7 .592

#8 .631

#9 .671

[DuluthFan]

Although I would like to see Gibson pitch at the MLB level sooner rather than later, he should definitely have a couple more starts at AAA. Wasn't this his first complete game this year? 114 pitches? It would be nice to see if he recovers from this long outing before bringing him up. Besides, the extra time would allow the current starting staff to shake itself out. I see three possible players (Pelfrey, Worley & Hernandez) for replacement. Two more starts should reveal who needs to be replaced or for someone to reveal an injury that they have been hiding.

 

I don't know how a Mastroianni roster move discussion came out of this article but, as far as Mastroianni goes, he is still on the DL and a return date is not close. Between now and then, anything could happen. A trade, an injury, a rehab setback or improvement/slump of any of the current roster would affect the roster move. It could be months before a move is needed. As of right now, he is not on the team and is not ready to play. If a roster move for an outfielder is needed, perhaps the discussion should be limited to players who are currently healthy or ready to play.

[jay]

To reiterate, I don't see a ripple down effect from moving Mauer up. What I do see is no solid plan, only hope, from management that somehow a reliable leadoff hitter would rise to the challenge and take the spot.

 

I'm wondering what a "solid plan" would have looked like. If the Twins had every roster position and the batting order perfectly determined, it probably wouldn't have been a 90+ loss season last year nor had low expectations for this year.

[jokin]

I'm wondering what a "solid plan" would have looked like. If the Twins had every roster position and the batting order perfectly determined, it probably wouldn't have been a 90+ loss season last year nor had low expectations for this year.

 

For starters, how about acquiring a proven leadoff hitter to replace what they traded away? I would think when determining their offseason priorities, besides SP, that would have been the #1 imperative for the Twins FO. Unless they had willingly chosen to go the cheap route filled with hope, or, out and out tank it, er, I mean, had "low expectations for this year".

[AlwaysinModeration]

Could Pressly start?

[cmathewson]

Could Pressly start?

 

I doubt he's ready. The last time he started, he was in single A and it didn't go well. He's basically a two-pitch pitcher because his change is nothing special.

[ThePuck]

Could Pressly start?

 

In postgame, Gardy shut that idea down.

[ashbury]

Losing Span was definitely a blow, though.

 

Span's OPS in 2012 was .738. A moment earlier you were semi-mocking Hicks's .704. I realize that as leadoff hitter, Span's value is in OBP; still, on a team weighted too heavily toward table-setters, Span seems pretty replaceable on offense.

[jokin]

In postgame, Gardy shut that idea down.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As he should have. Pressly can and should shoot for staking out a potentially nice Jesse Crain-like career, he has the nice fastball like Crain, he just needs to get a little better command of his breaking stuff. Crain started out in his major league career with K%es like 12.8% and 7.7%, to go with K/9 numbers like 4.67 and 2.82. Pressly's minor league K% numbers were pretty much in the high teens-to-mid-20%s and averaged a K/9 of 7, mostly as a starter. He's got a 16% K rate and a 6.32 K/9 number as a Twin thus far, so he's off to good start.