stringer bell

Does Cano have to face three batters today?

I agree that Kepler looks much better this year and would expect the batted ball data to back that up. Larnach's batted ball data isn't radically improved? To the point of whether Kepler will be supplanted this year, I sincerely doubt it. In particular, he's a fine fielder and a decent base runner, in addition to showing a lot of improvement with his hitting. Larnach has shown enough to get regular playing time when he returns (hopefully soon) and to date Celestino has shown he belongs as well, in a smaller sample.

What was it, two weeks ago when we were commenting on how effective the rotation was? Since then, Joe Ryan has looked human in two straight starts, Chris Paddack hurt his elbow with likely TJ surgery, Dylan Bundy threw two consecutive stinkers, and Chris Archer is getting even less far into games and giving up runs to boot. Josh Winder has two outstanding starts, so we can expect regression at some point and Bailey Ober is on the Injured List. Ober has passed the minimum time to be on the list, but it appears that he will need to make at least one rehab start. Sonny Gray returned to the rotation after missing about three weeks. Gray was supposed to make another rehab start, but instead faced the AAAAs and pitched four scoreless innings. Not exactly as rosy as things were about May 1. We fans can expect that, not just Twins fans, but all fans. Starting pitchers get ineffective (see Shoemaker and Happ) and they get injured. If a starting pitcher stays both effective and healthy enough to take his turn, he is worth tens of millions of dollars to his team. Thoughts on the current rotation pieces: 1) Gray is as advertised. He a quality starter, not as durable as he was in his 20s, but he will give the club innings and give them a chance to win almost every time out. 2) Ryan is a rookie with a nice future. It remains to be seen if he can be effective for a whole season. He needs to find the right formula of being a strike thrower and making hitters chase. It didn't work on Tuesday. 3) Ober's contribution will go a long way towards determining the success of the rotation and the season. He's not pitched many innings over his career and is on the IL now. He finished very strong last year (with innings restrictions). I hope and expect he can do the same this year. 4) Josh Winder is another wild card. I hope the Twins manage his innings and get him through the season. He's got enough stuff to be very successful. 5) Chris Archer. Archer can't seem to have quick innings and get deep enough into games. His 5-run in three innings appearance made his formerly gaudy ERA swell to 4.43. He's got an adequate change to go with enough fastball velo and a decent slider, but he's made it hard on himself in every start with high pitch counts. Changes need to be made to get him deeper into games. 6) Dylan Bundy. Great command his first three starts followed by two straight where he didn't give his team much of a chance. I guess I would expect something in between most often going forward, but Bundy knows how to get people out, so I wouldn't write him off quite yet. 7) Chris Paddack. If by some miracle he doesn't require his second TJ surgery, he might be pretty good. If he does go under the knife, the Twins can hope to get at least a full year out of him. He could be a veteran presence in the middle of the decade. Lots of question marks for this rotation. Two big prospects are on the horizon--Matt Canterino is only going four innings per start, but he's been lights out in AA and Jordan Balazovic made his first St. Paul start this season and made it 3.2 innings. If either of these guys could come up and augment the current starters, it would be a win for the pitching pipeline. The future looks very good for both of them if they can stay healthy.

I don’t want to apologize for the Twins effort in 1 1/3 games, but Houston is pretty healthy and at the top of their game other than slugging. The Twins are playing them at the wrong time and it certainly is the wrong time to have control problems. It’s nice to see the Twins young players hold their own against Oakland, but they need their best players against Houston, the way they are playing right now.

We can continue the game thread here when the game resumes.

Go get ‘em tomorrow.

So, if the game is washed out, do they play a doubleheader tomorrow?

Strike 3 wasn’t in the box. Closer pitches were called balls when Archer was pitching in the first and second innings.

1-0. Will it count?

14 to go Chris!

The ideal would be a five inning “complete game” from Archer as the Twins prevail 3-1.

They haven’t taken anyone off the 40-man. The two COVID IL players don’t count on the 40-man, so when they’re brought back someone will have to be taken off. 60-day IL candidates would include Sanó and Paddack. DFA could be Godoy (if the Twins want to only carry two catchers on the 40-man) and so far ineffective minor leaguers on the 40-man including Vallimont and Strotman. Cotton could be DFAed again at the risk of losing him via claim or free agency.

Since the delayed start of the 2022 major league season, the Twins have called up a host of players from their Triple A affiliate in St. Paul. Some guys like Gilberto Celestino, Trevor Larnach and (I guess) Kyle Garlick played little if at all for the Saints. Since then, top prospects Jose MIranda and Royce Lewis have been recalled. Yesterday, Jharel Cotton and Mark Contreras were recalled to the Twins. It was posted on this site (unofficially) that Cuban righty Yennier Cano will be recalled today. Looking at the box scores of the last couple days, I don't see much help available across the river in St. Paul. There are several pitchers with big league experience, but that would be middle inning relievers and sixth or seventh starter options. Several position players have major league experience, but none could be called a prospect. Jermaine Palacios would be a fun story if he was promoted, but he probably wouldn't move the needle much for the Twins. It has become common to populate AAA with guys with limited upside. It seems to me that this is exactly what is left in St. Paul as we reach mid-May. I wonder if some promotions from Wichita are in order. The top 7 in their lineup last night had OPS over .700, with the lowest being Austin Martin, who is among the league leaders in steals and is still rated as a top prospect. A number of the Wind Surge pitchers have also done well, including Simeon Wood Richardson, Louie Varland and Matt Canterino, and four or five relief options.

Reading the ESPN report on last night's game, Coulombe's injury was a left hip inflammation. I thought it was his arm. Sounds like 15 days on the IL, but not a season ending injury.

The top prospects really didn't do much, but still a lot of good news on the farm. I've said this before, but probably the best news is that the top prospects are not on the IL and are playing.

Godoy is here because he was healthy and on the 40-man roster. He would be first. I think Kirilloff is next, particularly if Arraez is one of the guys activated.

I mostly agree. However, despite making a number of running catches, I'm not sure that Celestino is doing that well in the field. He seems to have misjudged a number of balls and seems to get late jumps far too often. He's found holes with balls put in play and his BABIP might be unsustainable, but he isn't striking out much and has hit the ball hard fairly frequently. To me, it is a mixed bag which will be sorted out by a larger sample size.

It wouldn't be Cano that the Twins would lose. If he is added, he gets options and can freely be sent back and forth to St. Paul (unlike Cotton). The problem is making room on the 40-man roster. The Twins haven't moved anyone to the 60-man IL of late and Sano and Paddack are candidates, as well as Coulombe, if his injury is serious. Ineffective 40-man guys not in the majors (Strotman and Vallimont) could be DFAed as well as Godoy, if the Twins want to only carry two catchers on the 40-man roster.

It's not helping Kirilloff or the team for him to be with the Twins right now. As soon as some semblance of order is restored with the roster, AK needs to either go on the IL or be optioned to St. Paul.

That is what Levine said. So the full story is that COVID IL players are not on the 40-man roster, but their place on the 26-man roster must be taken by players on the 40-man roster. So when Arraez and Bundy return, two players must be subtracted from the 40-man roster. Sano would be a candidate for the 60-day IL and Paddack, if he does have surgery. Also Coulombe, if his injury is serious. Cotton could be DFAed and there are a few 40-man pitchers who have not had good seasons to date (Strotman and Vallimont) and finally Godoy, who has been on the squad a few days, but hasn't played.

Misleading stat of the game: the Twins hit Verlander literally infinitely better the third time through the order.

I swear I wrote that before Gio tapped into the DP.

Odds of a GDP? I checked the Twins are third in the AL.

I thought he did what he could. Alex Kirilloff is not Buxton or even Nick Gordon. He couldn't get to the ball in good throwing position and being left handed made it that much more difficult. This game is giving every appearance of one of those sixty games a team is going to lose.

4-0 now seems like 12-0.