When the Twins took Pedro Hernandez off the 40 man roster, I wrote that it was now obvious that they would put Edgar Ibarra on their 40 man roster. Today, they did it. Tomorrow, he would have been able to sign with any team.

 

Dude's nasty. I've talked to several people about him, and admittedly only saw him once in Beloit a few years ago... but reports are up to 95 mph on the fastball. Good slider. Decent changeup. Lots of movement. Sometimes lacks command, but I like this move.

Seth- Any insight what those on the inside attribute for his metoric rise in 2013? (ie, better coaching, improved velocity, maturity, new pitch?)

 

It appears the command is always going to be an issue with him- is he a left-handed version of Jose Valverde- their velocity is similar at the same age, but with Valverde even wilder than Ibarra, but with the much better penchant for the punch-out.

I think they've always liked his stuff. I just think due to his streak and success, he would have had many options as a free agent so the Twins didn't let that happen.

Seth- Any insight what those on the inside attribute for his metoric rise in 2013?

 

I'm not much of an expert on using Fangraphs' (or other sites') advanced analytics, but the FIP career progression looks much smoother than his ERA, and in 2013 he seems to have benefited from a favorable BABIP. No one gets AA and AAA batters out just by luck, but there doesn't have to be a coaching tweak behind the sudden good results.

Another part of his progression is that he moved from starting to relieving full time in 2012. Certain pitchers (see: Perkins, Glenn e.g.) benefit from that. He is a really small guy too, maybe he just did not have the frame for starting.

Another part of his progression is that he moved from starting to relieving full time in 2012.

 

That's a very good point. He had been relieving some of the time since 2009, generally with better results than starting (but that might be typical?). Doesn't explain the relatively bad 2012, and I still believe in the FIP/BABIP explanation, but switching to relieving is a big variable that explains something.