MIN 6, STL 0: Fernand0 R0mer0!!!!

  On 5/8/2018 at 3:50 AM, TheLeviathan said:

He's probably going to need a third pitch....but man does he have life on the two he throws.

He does, (FB, Slider, Change), but you’re spot on about the movement and life they possess.

I can see Romero and Berrios challenging each other, motivating one another - and that would be great.  Now to get Gonsalves up.  I want the young pitchers.  I am not excited by May even though his name keeps popping up.  How long has he been out?  I think he needs the minors again when he gets ready and he is no longer young - age 28.  

I wonder if we are already getting ready for Santana to leave with Lynn at the end of the year?  

2019 - Berrios, Romero, Gonsalves, Gibson, Odorizzi looks like the rotation to me, but then the FO seldom moves in the direction I hope for and there will be the dream of the Free Agent (take note of Darvish with the Cubs and you will know why I do not want one).  

Why in the world are we starting THIS guy while Hughes languishes in the pen?

*ducks*

  On 5/8/2018 at 2:58 PM, SirLoin said:

Based on his stuff, and his temperament, this is our future ace.  The potential of a Romero-Berrios-Gonsalves front end has me salivating like, well, me in front of a two pound brisket.

Whew. Thanks for putting the brisket part at the end of the post. If you'd led with that, I'd have ignored the rest of what you had to say. 

  On 5/8/2018 at 2:28 PM, TheLeviathan said:

Very true, I hadn't considered how this will stretch him out more than he is accustomed to.  But, unfortunately, there's only one way to prepare for that and that's just to do it.

 

It's nice to feel like we have some pitching depth to call on for the rotation though, if that does happen.

I've beat on this drum before.   There is no evidence I have ever seen that even suggests stretching out needs to be done incrementally in terms of so many innings a season (stretching out to go from 0 pitches to 110 is a different matter).     Every one is different and I think it just as likely that Romero's arm blows out in ST as it would for him to pitch 200 innings.   Don't baby him but be smart about it.   If he feels fatigue or has soreness then skip a start and monitor.    How many of our pitchers have followed the incremental philosophy and then needed surgery anyway?   Sometimes it feels like the answer is all of them.    Blyleven threw 220 innings at age 19 and then no less than 275 innings for the next 6 years.   Its not like he had a Clemens like build either.   

I agree with you.  Just do it.    

Goodness, Romero is fun to watch.

I think the FO is smart enough to know "the verducci effect" is garbage, but I still think they'll be careful with Romero this year and not stretch him out too far. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if he gets lit up once in his next few starts now that there's some MLB tape on him and smart teams will start putting together a book on him. How he responds to that will be very interesting, but he has both the stuff and the makeup to do fine.

Have to say, i sure am glad they didn't turn him into a relief pitcher!

Nice to see Grossman have a good game at the plate, hopefully he can be a useful bat again. Though I'd much prefer his adventures in the OF be restricted!

When you see a guy with stuff like this, it begs the question: why did take so long to give him major league innings?

Especially for pitchers who are nearly all a ticking time bomb, the minor league paradigm needs to be changed, IMO. There is no reason to let a guy with major league caliber stuff use up 500 innings in the minors. I can see if you have a rotation like Astros, but a team like the Twins running out grange retreads year after year don't really have an excuse.

I know Romero was injured, which held him back, but we see it with all prospects. This example just reinforces my distain for the mandatory minimum minor league sentence, no matter how much better you are than the guy earning a major paycheck. It's archaic.

If this follows the script, Romero will blow out his arm soon.

Let's hope the baseball gods have a different script for the Twins this time around!

Regarding limits on innings for Romero later this summer if necessary, a nice little Dodger 2017 DL strategy isn’t a terrible idea.

FO: “Hey Fernando, is that a blister I see on your finger?”

FR: “No.”

FO: “That sure looks sore. Affecting your grip, I suppose, huh?”

FR: “No, my grip is fine.”

FO: “That’s too bad. But don’t worry. I’m sure it’ll be gone in 10 days. Heal up!”

This kid looks like the real deal. The stuff alone makes him a clear notch above most. He also seems supremely confident, which bodes well also. 

Him and Berrios at the top if these guys truly keep maturing looks to be a great 1-2 punch. Gonsalves? Sure, he should be fine, but I see him as a #4 type guy. Berrios and Romero have electric pitches/movement, etc. They are both a joy to watch up there. 

  On 5/8/2018 at 5:38 PM, Doomtints said:

If this follows the script, Romero will blow out his arm soon.

 

Let's hope the baseball gods have a different script for the Twins this time around!

Hate to say it but I was thinking the same thing when watching him yesterday. You don't see many guys maintain that type of stuff without hurting themselves. 

  On 5/8/2018 at 12:07 PM, Tomj14 said:

Hey looked great.

The question I have is did the Twins wait too long to promote, or was it perfect timing?

IMO if he can come in and do this in the majors, they waited too long, but we won't really know until he gets a few more starts under his belt.

What held up his promotion were elbow and knee surgery back to back not the twins. His coming up when he did was surprisingly fast IMO especially in light of the twins track record.

  On 5/8/2018 at 12:27 PM, rdehring said:

Not concerned that he has only three pitches because his fastball is at least two different pitches the way he moves it.  Needs some work on his change, hopefully getting it a couple mph slower.

 

Romero and Berrios or Berrios and Romero?  Damn, this is exciting.

 

And like Doc Bauer, I have been thinking about his innings during both of his starts.  What might work well when Trevor May is ready to join the Twins in July, move him to the bullpen.  Limiting him to a couple innings every five days would cut the # of innings from say 30 (5*6) to 10.  Then get him back into his regular starting spot in September so he is available for game #1 or game #2 in the playoffs.

 

This plan would solve two problems, keeping Romero available for the playoffs AND creating a spot for Trevor May when he is available.  Now, how do we find a spot for Santana next month?

May is not going to come back rotation ready. Getting His feel back will take time especially considering he was just getting it figured out when he got hurt.

  On 5/8/2018 at 2:05 PM, Tomj14 said:

I am not saying it is or isn't, but comparing him to Berrios doesn't mean anything, you could compare him to others that have about the same innings that have done really well.

So far it looks great but maybe a week earlier stops a 8 game losing straight.

 

It doesn't matte since this is what happened, I just it interesting that sometimes waiting too long can hurt a team.

I'm not going to look it up but his stats in AAA weren't that great this year so again i was surprised he was called up this early.

  On 5/8/2018 at 3:43 PM, mikelink45 said:

 

2019 - Berrios, Romero, Gonsalves, Gibson, Odorizzi looks like the rotation to me, but then ...

Don't forget that the FO has stashed Michael Pineda on the roster for next year.

Could be a great staff, if everyone stays healthy.

  On 5/8/2018 at 3:21 PM, Doubles said:

Are you inferring Romero embraces pharmaceuticals?

I've heard Dr. Mero hands out R_O  like candy.

  On 5/9/2018 at 11:56 AM, Old Twins Cap said:

Don't forget that the FO has stashed Michael Pineda on the roster for next year.

 

Could be a great staff, if everyone stays healthy.

That is true, but I hope that does not remove one of the young pitchers.  Pineda has had a very mixed career and I am not sure what to expect from him.