Ready To Move Up

Great write up as usual Seth.   I'd like to think that your spot on with most of those observations, with the exception of the AAA to MLB jumps.   With those, I.E. Gonsalves/Slegers, I look at the them and what they've done and I think they deserve the chance, but... then I look at the Twins current roster and I draw a complete blank. 

Baring injury or a slump of obscene and epic proportions, I just don't know how they'll fit in outside of a double headers/spot start here and there.   And thusly....

NIBB HIGH FOOTBALL RULES!!!!!!!

I like this report.  Slegers is interesting because his trial in MLB did not go well and I suspect a lot of people see him as AAAA.  I wonder how he will get a chance.  A trade?  

I would like to add Gordon to MLB, but I am not understanding the FO approach.  Same with Gonsalves.  During ST I was hoping Wade would be the number four OF, but I imagine his injury has set him back.  I would like to see him before LaMarre and Cave return.

Kiriloff is the most exciting because I questioned his prospect rating stating that he had to prove that he had recovered and not lost anything.   I now have to say - he has done the proving.

I am curious about Lewis' promotion schedule and disappointed in Rooker's slow start because I really wanted him to be on the quick track. 

Totally agree on these six, especially Kiriloff's promotion being due as his numbers, especially the power numbers, are much better than Royce Lewis'. OF used to be an area of depth in our system, but we are finding out how quickly things can change. Backups are pretty mediocre now and with Grossman not hitting, we could use some reinforcements. I too, was hoping Rooker would be on the fast track, but he hasn't established much yet to be excited about.

I think and hope Buxton is about to find himself, but how much longer do we allow him to take ABs and hit south of .170? He normally comes around in June and I think he will again, but I would really like to see Wade promoted at least to AAA and then to the majors if we lose one of our top 3 OF to injury. The lineup in Rochester is quite inept and I'm sure the pitchers would love to see some offense.

I have never understood the issue with Van Steensel. Dude is 27.

Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes and Yes. I agree with all 6 suggestions with the one problem of where do you put Slegers if you bring him up? I know some are arguing for Gonsalves but I like him getting a little more seasoning in AAA first. But yeah, he's close too.

Just because a guy may be ready doesn't mean there's a spot for him when it comes to MLB. Tough break for Slegers, who isn't going to get a chance absent additional injury. I do wonder if a guy goes down before Santana or May are ready (of if a couple of guys get wiped out after) if Gonsalves or Slegers gets the call. 

Kirilloff is exciting right now. He seems to have bounced back wonderfully from the surgery and is hitting the cover off the ball. It'd be crazy if he doesn't get promoted to FM at the break. Can't wait to see how he does when he gets there.

  On 5/25/2018 at 10:09 PM, Thrylos said:

Slegers has shown zero evidence that he can pitch in the bigs.  6.46 ERA, 5.70 FIP, 5.3 K/9, and 1.5 K/BB do not belong in a major league rotation in a competitive team.  Maybe he can pitch for Miami.  At this point he is behind the 5 men already in the rotation, plus May, Santana, and Mejia.  I just don't see it.

 

And if you look at his miinor league numbers his AAA K/9 dropped from 7.2 last season to 5.2 this season, and his FIP and xFIP increased by 0.2 and 0.5 respectively.

 

He is just not there.  Among the first to lose his 40-man spot if needed for someone else...

My opinion on Slegers has been that he is a borderline MLB 5th starter. His strikeout numbers just aren't good enough to be a reliable guy in the rotation, though I do think last year's sample size was small and he would be able to improve from it (much like other Twins rookie starters have). Perhaps his ideal role will be as a long reliever, which isn't exciting or currently needed, but I think that's what he projects as. I wouldn't consider DFA'ing him at this juncture.

i think Wade needs more time to develop his bat.

We don’t know how often he is getting a pitch he should barrel up and instead he misses it hitting a foul ball or puts it in play to weak contact. With his large number of walks, he must be seeing lots of pitches and should have more opportunities to get a good pitch to hit. With all of those walks must be plenty of counts in his favor and pitchers needing to throw him a good pitch.

How often is he getting those good pitches and not taking advantage or recognizing them? How often does he end up with a walk when somewhere earlier in the count he should have barreled up a pitch? We don’t know. The Twins staff should know. There should always be a at least a caution flag up when you see a player with a lot of walks and little power in the minors.

Still a little confused why Gordon and Wade were at AA to begin the season, but like to believe it was for a reason; defense, increased power production, etc. Too bad Wade is hurt. But still have a hard time promoting him straight to the ML unless he is going to play daily. Even with his struggles, would Wade really supplant Buxton at this time?

Question for Seth, or anyone, we've heard for some time now that Navarreto has power potential and defensive chops to play in MLB NOW. This is the first season we've actually seen the bat show a little life. Should we actually be encouraged?