LylesCrocodiles

Dobnak will pitch 100-125 ML innings. Swing man early in the season. Gets maybe 10-12 starts as an injury fill in. But I too want to see him start.

So what is the league average FB rate for strikes? 70 percent?

It appears Kirilloff is ready. Say they do have him with the big club for opening day. And he struggles a bit. Would it be OK to send him to AAA to manipulate service time? I’m OK with the front office making a decision on Kirillofff either way. But let’s see how this plays out in spring training. There are a lot of different possible outcomes, but if this organization thinks he’s ready for the majors he should be there on opening day. Finding a way to win as many games possible should be the only goal.

This is a solid team that keeps getting deeper. Should be lots of competition for roster spots. The No 5 SP is up for grabs. I will sharpie Colome Rogers Duffey on then opening day roster. I’m penciling in Alcala Robles and Stashek. I think Thielbar is the front runner for the 7th spot. And it’s a free for all after that. The Twins have a prospect crop that’s reaching the higher levels. And it’s been 18 months since the minor league guys have even played. Who knows who will emerge. This club should be a playoff team. If they are as good as the projections and oddsmakers are expecting, will this be the year the front office makes a trade for a significant upgrade? The conditions seem right.

I don’t understand the dislike of Dobnak as a No 5. I feel like he is a known commodity. And he started last season in our rotation. And he was our best starter for 5 turns thru the rotation. Again. I understand that this may be his ceiling but I will take it. If Shoemaker can give them 100 innings I will take that too. Baseball is back to a marathon in 2021. The depth on the pitching staff is so much better than pretty much any Twins team I’ve followed. I’m just sad it took so long for our front office to invest in that depth.

I like Arraez. But if he plays more than 30-40 games in left field the Twins will have been crippled by injuries. I’m hoping he’s used much like Marwin the last 2 years. 5 starts per week at different positions.

I will let spring training performance and injuries sort out things for the back of the pen. Coaches will have plenty of ways to pick the No 7 and 8 arms in the pen. I like Dobnak at No 5 SP. If the front office wants to upgrade that spot so be it. I prefer to see Nick Gordon on the bench over Tortuga. Gordon is 25. Let’s see what he can do in a limited role before Kirilloff Lewis and Larnach force their way into the lineup.

I would prefer someone who can play some better defense on the bench. I wouldn’t be opposed to Adrianza or a guy like him. My top choice would be Nick Gordon. His a top pick who is already 25. I’d like to see him used as a pinch runner/defensive replacement and at least find out if he can do that. He’s not getting any younger.

Tortuga is emergency depth only. The argument that he can play the corners is kind of meaningless. I bet if Rocco told Rooker (or any other AAA guy we might call up) “we need you to play a couple innings at 3B today” he could figure it out. These are professional baseball players. The one position Astudillo can help is catcher. But if he continues to hit at the level he did in 2019 and 2020 (weak contact with no walks and little pop) why not just add a true defensive catcher to the 40 man to replace him. I don’t mind him in the current role he’s slated for but if he doesn’t produce I’m not keeping him around for his hustle or clubhouse presence. He’s got to start hitting again. Period.

Great read. It’s amazing to me that these pitchers can change their repertoire (and I would assume some of their grip/hand/wrist/elbow Action) to make the baseball do what they want. The subtlety of pitch tunneling only works if you have people who can show if on a screen and teach them how to get that extra couple inches of movement without losing the deception of the pitchers arsenal. And then have that pitcher make the proper adjustments. It may also explain why pitchers have a hard time staying healthy over a 162 game season.

Anderson did have some success in the rotation in 2019. Maybe he’s AAA rotation depth.

Maybe a big trade is coming

I’d like to see the Twins consolidate some of this depth and make a move. Package a prospect and a couple bullpen arms to upgrade deficient areas. I think this is the year the Twins try out a lot of guys in the first half and package some of that depth to get one difference maker. A true No 1 starter or at least another No 2 to pair with Berrios and Maeda.

In response to h20face, I think there will be plenty of bargain arms available for the Twins to improve the pen. With so many teams not interested in adding payroll it’s just simple math that there will be guys who have to settle for less if they want ML jobs. And that’s why they pay Falvey and Levine the big bucks. If they sign the right arm or two it can help them replace productive guys from 2020 (May Wisler Clippard and Romo) without bloating the payroll and keeping them flexible for moves in 2022 and beyond. The bottom line to me is Simmons is a real solid addition and a sign the organization is willing to make more moves. We can all speculate or throw out ideas of what we would do if we were in charge. (And my preference would be to get Cruz and either Rosenthal or Colomé) and then wait to see what remains in the FA relief pitcher market. And maybe snag a guy for $2M once spring training starts. Or even add mode guys to compete for the final bullpen spots. Can never have enough arms.

Just makes so much sense. Gives the team 4 plus defenders at their positions. And I would think they will be close to average at the other 5. Now get Cruz and keep adding quality arms on the cheap. If Simmons Donaldson Buxton can play 120ish games or more and be healthy in September their defense should not be a liability in the playoffs. That’s going to help them so much.