Article: Pressure is on for Twins starters

[Riverbrian]

1) Who says you can't keep trotting out plus 5+ ERA starters? Did you forget about 2011 and 2012?

 

2) Oh ye of little faith, RB! I think you neglected to take into account the "team that traded you effect." Look for Pedro to put in a decent performance tonight!

 

1. I do remember those years and 2012 especially IMO... Starting Pitching was why we are drafting 4th overall this year... You know me... I'm Mr. Half Full. I was disappointed by the lack of a larger name FA SP signing but I talked myself into feeling better by thinking that quantity over quality can still work and it still can... But... It can only work if TR and Gardy are willing to make hard decisions. IE... Starting pitcher struggling replaced by the next option. We have 3 that are struggling out of the current 5. We've moved past Hendriks but that was easy because he has options and isn't MLB established. These kind of calls get much harder with established pitchers like Pelfrey and Worley.

 

We have every reason to expect average pitching with the number of options we have. But we can't be average if we stay with below average and don't give the ball to someone else and expect him to be at least average.

 

2. Yeah... I'm pulling for Pedro while still waiting for Deduno and Gibson. It's a conflicted feeling in the pit of my stomach.

[Riverbrian]

Anyone else excited for when our roto is Meyer, Gibson, Diamond, Berrios and May? Oh and possibly Manaea or Stewart. Our lineup right now is all guys that have a hard time throwing above 90mph and cant get Ks which lead to the ball being in play every at bat. Our lineup 2-3 years from now will have a few guys that throw hard in the mid 90s and can get Ks. We will finaly be able to look forward to watching our pitchers every game, im pretty bored of watching Worley try to throw 90mph.

 

I'm very excited but I try to temper that excitement because these guys still have to grab the opportunity by the horns when the opportunity comes. That ain't ever a sure thang.

[jokin]

Could you tell me what you meant by Hernandez range? How many starts has Hernandez had in the major? Go easy on the rookie. I think he is a good lefty who might have a chance to succeed in the ML if he could work hard and focus.

 

Just quoting his current ERA. I like him too, particularly as a lefty option- most likely in a relief role, but his last 2 starts have ballooned his numbers.

[fairweather]

Hernandez is better than he's being given credit for on this thread.

[Nick Nelson]

Hernandez is better than he's being given credit for on this thread.

 

Based on what?

[jun]

Based on what?

 

Hernandez did pitch a good game against Texas Rangers. 5 innings of shutout ballgame against that lineup is impressive to me. He threw only 80 pitches and got pulled, his last inning was clean.

[Brock Beauchamp]

Pelfrey's sinker was fantastic last start, so much that he was using it exclusively against a few batters. He'll need to continue from last time to establish some ground in the rotation. Worley has been the worst starter for sure.

 

Worley has only been worse in ERA. His peripherals have actually been better than Pelfrey once you adjust for luck-based stats like BABIP and HR%, things pitchers can't really control.

 

Both have been bad but Worley has been extremely unlucky while Pelfrey has been moderately unlucky to extremely lucky depending on the peripheral.

 

Which is apparent by Worley's xFIP of 4.5 and Pelfrey's 5.2.

[cmathewson]

I'm glad to hear TR and Gardy say this about Worley. I had great seats behind home plate for Worley's start on Saturday. I was watching him as close as I could.

 

He was completely unremarkable. His Two-seamer was coming in 88-89MPH and it was up and flat and he wasn't going to a breaking ball or anything off speed very often in the first couple of innings.

 

He was a little more effective when he started mixing things up and he was spotting his two seamer down and getting a little drop on it but all in all... Keeping it down seemed to be a chore.

 

 

This is the thing. I'd like to see a Parkeresque video analysis of his pitches now vs when he was going good for Philly. I have seen some footage from that year and his sinker was filthy. I'm not seeing that at all right now. It's flat and barely has any movement of any kind. What worries me is he says the ball is coming out of his hand good. But it sure isn't doing what it did when he was good. This is not the pitcher I expected to be getting in this trade.

[IdahoPilgrim]

Anyone else excited for when our roto is Meyer, Gibson, Diamond, Berrios and May? Oh and possibly Manaea or Stewart. Our lineup right now is all guys that have a hard time throwing above 90mph and cant get Ks which lead to the ball being in play every at bat. Our lineup 2-3 years from now will have a few guys that throw hard in the mid 90s and can get Ks. We will finaly be able to look forward to watching our pitchers every game, im pretty bored of watching Worley try to throw 90mph.

 

We need to make sure those prospects actually do turn into quality starters, but, yeah! I can get down with that!

[stringer bell]

I finally checked the Twins' schedule and see that they have an off-day Thursday. That would mean that Gibson could still replace Hernandez with normal rest on Sunday. I hope that Gibson has another strong outing and that the Twins pull the trigger and bring Kyle up to the minors. At this point, Hernandez isn't a capable starter and so far neither are Pelfrey and Worley.

[Willihammer]

Its the same problem Parker identified in the offseason, Worley's lack of a 3rd pitch. Take a look at his contact rates on his 2ndary pitches so far. According to fangraph's pitch classifications at least, every single Changeup thrown for a strike and swung on has been contacted. Every single curveball swung on has been contacted whether it was in the zone - or, out of the zone. 100%! The sample sizes are still small but that is not a good sign. Contact rates for hitters at least, are among the first things to stabilize.

 

Guys who don't have a 3rd pitch belong in the pen.