Article: Twins Minor League Report (6/4): Gibson and Baxendale make their pitches

[Seth Stohs]

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?r=1837-Twins-Minor-League-Report-(6-4)-Gibson-and-Baxendale-make-their-pitches

[clutterheart]

Baxendale kept a couple of good hitters quiet in this one.

Good to see

[YourHouseIsMyHouse]

Baxendale was awesome. I was following it through gameday and was very excited as each inning progressed. The 7th inning he finished very strong with 2Ks and no baserunners. He was up to 93 pitches at that point though, so his departure was predictable. The line is impressive in itself, obviously. What makes this even better is that this was the same Richmond team that shoved him around in his first AA start.

 

Also important note: The run DJ gave up was an inside the park HR. The Rock Cats defense was pretty pitiful, but Baxendale still was near perfect despite the obstacles. In addition, they committed 2 Errors prior to that.

[YourHouseIsMyHouse]

Baxendale kept a couple of good hitters quiet in this one.

Good to see

 

Was looking through their box one guy that jumped out at me was SS Joe Panik (He played 2B in this one, but is listed at SS). Did some research and he was a first round pick in 2011 and he's put up an impressive combo of SB/HR throughout his minor league career. OPS is good too for his position. He's also 22, so fairly young and has been advancing at a steady pace. You'd think he'd be a borderline top 100 player, but I couldn't find him in any (not even Sickels 150). He'd be a player I'd really like to have. For the record, he went 0-3 with a BB.

[Red Bull]

Baxendale keeps on impressing me every game. I am sick of seeing Gibsons name in Rochesters box scores, call him up and lets get this kid some experience. Looks like Sano had a decent game aswell. Hopefully Buxton can return soon, its kinda boring watching the box scores when hes not playing.

[rickyhawaii]

Andrew Susac is another Giants prospect that is interesting. Catcher with pretty good numbers. He'll probably be blocked by Posey. Giants would be good trade partners.

[clutterheart]

Also important note: The run DJ gave up was an inside the park HR. The Rock Cats defense was pretty pitiful, but Baxendale still was near perfect despite the obstacles. In addition, they committed 2 Errors prior to that.

 

The defense in New Britain is an embarrassment. Something needs to change there.

[Tibs]

What's the scouting report on Baxendale? What kind of pitcher is he?

[Mike Sixel]

Excited about Baxendale's start. Good news indeed.

[Seth Stohs]

Excited about Baxendale's start. Good news indeed.

 

Yes, this is good news and likely a relief for him and for the Twins brass. The first one was rough. Important to get back out there and see the success. Hopefully it will continue!

[admgngl]

Is there a good, recent scouting report for Baxendale (FB velocity, best breaking pitches, etc.)? He keeps putting up great lines and was just wondering how he might translate to the bigs.

[Seth Stohs]

Is there a good, recent scouting report for Baxendale (FB velocity, best breaking pitches, etc.)? He keeps putting up great lines and was just wondering how he might translate to the bigs.

 

From April's SP of the Month article:

 

Ft. Myers – DJ Baxendale - 5 GS, 4-0, 1.84 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 29.1 IP, 21 H, 6 BB, 25 K

Baxendale was the top starter of the Arkansas Razorbacks team that advanced to the College World Series. During that season he set the Arkansas record with 20 starts. He went 8-5 with a 3.11 ERA. The Twins were thrilled to use their 10^th round pick on the right-hander as they believed he had the talent to be selected much earlier. He began his pro career with the Elizabethton Twins but quickly moved up to Beloit. Combined, he walked just two and struck out 31 in 18.2 innings.

 

He pitched out of the bullpen primarily because of the 107 innings he threw during the college season. The plan was for him to move to a starter's role this season, but it was somewhat surprising that he began the season with the Miracle. However, as Steil said, the things he’s done so well in April are the things that got him pushed to Ft. Myers. “He’s been locating well, keeping hitters off balance by changing speeds and keeping the ball down. Along with (those things), just his maturity and poise on the mound.”

 

Take a look at the numbers: 4-0 with a sub-2.00 ERA and a sub-1.00 WHIP. He has limited long balls and walks. The Miracle were 21-4 in April, and Baxendale was a big part of it.

 

So, what does he throw? A scouting report will tell you that he throws both a 2-seam and a 4-seam fastball that range from 87 to 92 mph. He has a big bending curveball in the low 70s, with downward break, which makes it a pitch that induces ground balls. He also has a very good, late-breaking slider in the 78 to 82 mph range. He has terrific control of it and when he spots it on the outside corner he can get hitters to chase. He also has good arm speed and sink on his changeup.

 

What would Baxendale himself say? “I throw a four-seam fastball, sinker, change-up, curve ball and slider. I try to use the slider and curveball both as strikeout pitches in order to keep the hitters guessing what pitch I will come with ahead in the count.”

 

Baxendale has great command and makeup. He has the ability to move the ball around the strike zone very well. He can pitch to all zones of the plate, up and down, inside and out. He gets a lot of swings and misses outside of the zone, in part, because he hides the ball well. He is competitive and wants to win at everything. He has a knack of getting out of jams, and has grittiness and intensity on the mound.

 

Baxendale credits his pitching coach and his control for his success so far this year. “The biggest key to my success so far is throwing low, quality strikes with all of my pitches. I’ve been working hard with pitching coach Ivan Arteaga to be able to consistently repeat my mechanics which improves my command and control of all pitches.”

 

It’s also been about making adjustments to the professional game. Baxendale explained, “The biggest adjustment I’ve made so far in pro ball is to be efficient in my innings and keep the pitch count down. I’ve done this by pitching to contact, throwing the ball down in the zone and getting outs in early counts.”

 

For Baxendale to continue to develop and rise through the Twins system, he may need to get a little bigger and strong. By adding some weight and strength, he would likely see a little increased velocity.

 

But for now, Baxendale is happy to be part of this tremendous Miracle team. “Being part of a talented team is always fun. We are all really competitive so we want to win. It’s pretty special to be a part of a team that is as talented as we are because every game is fun to watch.”

[nicksaviking]

Was looking through their box one guy that jumped out at me was SS Joe Panik (He played 2B in this one, but is listed at SS). Did some research and he was a first round pick in 2011 and he's put up an impressive combo of SB/HR throughout his minor league career. OPS is good too for his position. He's also 22, so fairly young and has been advancing at a steady pace. You'd think he'd be a borderline top 100 player, but I couldn't find him in any (not even Sickels 150). He'd be a player I'd really like to have. For the record, he went 0-3 with a BB.

 

Yeah, Panik was a SS drafted one spot ahead of Levi Michael in the 2011 draft and a lot of Twins fans were dissapointed. Had they both been available I guess we'll never know which one the Twins would have taken.

[Mike Sixel]

It is interesting to see what he does in AA. The thing that is interesting about it is that his success is at least as good as in college, and yet many say college is like low A. Seth, can his slider work at higher levels at that speed? Does it break that much?

[chopper0080]

The defense in New Britain is an embarrassment. Something needs to change there.

 

Buxton and Morales would probably improve that though I doubt the Twins would be that agressive with Buxton.

[diehardtwinsfan]

My guess is that Buxton gets promoted when Morales does and takes his place.