Everything posted by roger
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Twins Minor League Week in Review (5/10-5/16):
First of all, Seth, thanks for another fantastic report. I know I speak for others also who really appreciate all this information you and the TD team bring us. Wanted to comment on what appears to be the minor league norm, ie, six game series with everybody off on Monday. Have you heard, do the players and teams like this schedule? I'll be honest, I was a bit shocked when I read that Julien had 10 walks in a week, ten? Sometimes pitching, and umpires calling balls and strikes, isn't all that great in the minors. Is this kid doing something different? Something special? Can he carry this on to the big leagues and be a +.400 OBP guy? Will be honest and admit that there are an awful lot of young players doing well who I know very little about. But I continue to check every day's box score to see how Miller did and if Raya was pitching. Love those two young kids and so far, couldn't be happier. And three Twins teams are in first place, hooooorah!
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Twins Minor League Report (5/15): Mussels Sweep! Kernels Keep Winning!
Thanks, Dman, was wondering what your thoughts were. Can certainly understand your comments about Rodriguez. But does running speed really matter at short? Isn't it more quickness? Granted there can be a play down in foul territory where flat out speed is important. Remember Lewis making a play like that in spring training a couple years ago and said, WOW. But the vast majority of plays, a shortstop takes a couple steps left, right or up. So to me quickness is more important and their running speed doesn't tell us that. Remember Robin Yount, was reasonably fast but certainly not a burner. One hell of a shortstop. And wasn't J.J. Hardy actually somewhat slow? Another excellent defensive shortstop. Heck, that guy that played short all those years in Baltimore wasn't a burner, although my memory is a bit foggy as far as he is concerned.
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Twins Minor League Report (5/15): Mussels Sweep! Kernels Keep Winning!
Cedar Rapids is 24-9 and Fort Myers, 20-10. The A-ball teams are both winning two-thirds of their games, or more. WOW! St. Paul seems in need of help. Unfortunately, most of their better players are either with the Twins or on the IL. Hopefully, Jordan B. will shake off his early season rust and start throwing the ball like we expect. Add Contreras and I suspect Miranda, and maybe Lewis (?), in the next few days and their roster should start being more competitive. Will second the above comments about Miller and Rodriguez, who's numbers are looking awfully nice. Have a question, Dman, if both Miller and Rodrguez are good defenders, why are there question marks whether or not they can stay at short and center? Sure, I expect they still needs work on D, but both are 19-year old kids who you would expect need a lot of work in all aspects of the game. Loved seeing Raya's start yesterday. This kid sure looks like he could be a good one, really good!
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Week in Review: Battling Through Attrition
Thanks, Nick. It should be exciting for the Twins to get their two best players back on the field. Sure seems like it makes sense to get Miranda back to St Paul for the summer. Although Miranda needs to be sent down, Lewis seems ready for the ‘show.’ May still make sense to send him to St. Paul for a few weeks playing a lot of third base and left field. Your memory may be better than mine, Nick, but I believe he played some/a lot of both in the AFL in 2020?
- It’s Time to Start Noticing Brent Headrick
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Minor League Report (5/14): A Denied Rehab Start and A Clean Franchise Sweep
Will second those above who are happy with the results of Enlow's first game following his short rehab assignment. Crossing my fingers that he can continue improving and be back to normal by season's end. When he was drafted, didn't know anything about Steer and wasn't all that excited with the pick. My initial expectation was a bit slower version of Nick Punto. His play on the field late last season and the first month of this year seems to indicate he could be more than that. Just don't know where he can find a position on the Twins as I expect second, short and third are spoken for until at least six or seven year from now. But should he develop into more than Nick, there are always injuries opening spots for good players. After seeing Owen Miller hitting cleanup for the Cleveland team, got me excited about our Miller. Wasn't he considered a better prospect than his older brother when drafted? After seeing he went 1-2 with 3 walks last night, checked his stats. See that he is striking out a bit more than we would like, but he is also walking nearly as often and has an OBP well over .400.
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Twins 2, Guardians 3 (10 Innings): Strong Pitching is Not Enough as Twins Fall to Guardians
Thanks for the data on Lewis' bunting experience. Would hope that he gets more work on it because even the best players may need to do so once in awhile. Such a disappointing game. Now need to get Ryan back on track today. Understand those going to games and not seeing Buxton being disappointed. Have a feeling that he is battling one or more injuries and didn't have a problem giving him a night off. Comments by the tv crew about the pen having only one leftie. Why isn't Moran back up? Or does he have to be down for X days and isn't past that requirement?
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Twins Minor League Report (5/13): Might Mussels Sweep, Fedko Homers in Kernels Debut
Thanks for the report, Seth. What a fantastic night to watch three of our top pitching prospects, Balazovic, SWR and Povich. Ouch, Ouch, Ouch. Well at least SWR and Povich pitched somewhat ok with their problems mostly related to errors by the D. Are you surprised that after a late start Balazovic started with the Saints? Could have seen him back at Wichita for a month or so. After that great game the other night from Javier, last night was another 0-4. Was he a minor league free agent last winter who resigned with the Twins, Seth? Or will he be a free agent this fall?
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Twins 12, Guardians 8: Bats Put Together a Nine-Run Inning, Snap Losing Streak
From what I have seen since his first game, Lewis appears ready for the 'show.' Unfortunately, shortstop is taken by Correa when he comes off the IL. If I were making the decision, I would sit down with Royce and lay out a game plan. It would begin with his being returned to St. Paul for roughly two weeks. He would play 2 games a week in left field, 1 in center, 2 games at third and 1 at short. After doing this for two or three weeks he would return to the Twins and play 2-3 games a week at both third and left. He would also be the first reserve for Correa when he gets a day off. I couldn't imagine him doing this well in my wildest dreams. Yet, I think he needs to get some time at third and in left field with the Saints before doing so nightly in Target Field. And yes, count me among those who thought Rocco waited several batters to long to pull Jax out of the game.
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Twins Minor League Report (5/12): Kernels Krush, Wichita Rakes
Wander Javier remains the International Prospect who signed the biggest contract ever....EVER...from the Twins. He is still young and when you watch him in the field (only a few games in pre-season) you gotta love what he could be. Then he puts up terrible numbers. So when he puts up a few huge games, we hope that that lightbulb has gone on and he has turned the corner. Usually he is back to the old norm after a few games. Will this be the time he turns the corner? We can only hope. The one thing I noted above, Dman, is that his (CES) walk percentage is nearly double this year compared with last (12 in 125 PA this year versus 5 in 92 last year). So the walks are increasing, although both are small samples. But the kid sure seems like a hitter, eh?
- “It felt great.” Balazovic Reflects on First Start of 2022 and What’s Ahead.
- Alex Kirilloff is Becoming a Question
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Twins Minor League Report (5/10): Mighty Mussels No-Hitter!
Looking at the Saints box score, there aren't any names one would consider big Twins prospects. I guess they are all with the Twins, or on the Twins IL. When I saw that Isola hit another home run, ask myself if he is a legit candidate to be a future Twins starting catcher? Or maybe backup? Do any of the guys that know this stuff have a feel of how good he is defensively? Headrick and Festa, two more names I am going to remember and begin following. Will they keep doing well all the way to the Twins? Or will they peak in A ball? Sure does seem like the organization has a lot of exciting young pitchers, low-A to AAA (or maybe AA with Winder and Ryan with the Twins).
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Chris Paddack UCL
Expect the fact that his medical records showed this as a possibility which is why the trade included a PTBNL that turned out to be much more of a prospect than one would have guessed. And I don't understand all the talk about going out and looking for another trade. We started the season with six starting pitchers and Wilder has proven to be better than we could have hoped for. So that makes seven. If Paddack is in fact going to be out for a year or so, we are back to six. Even if one of the six gets injured, or doesn't perform, we still have five. I doubt any of the other top prospects are really ready to pitch for the Twins this year, but there is a real chance Maeda will be by August? So I don't see the need for a trade.
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Twins Minor League Week in Review (5/3-5/9): Wallner, Miller, Steer, Headrick, Stankiewicz Star
Thanks again, Seth, love these reports. Was a bit shocked to see Wichita in first place after that first weekend. What was it, three straight losses or was it five to start the season? Highlight of the week for me was seeing Enlow and Balazovic on the mound. One comment about Enlow, he didn't have TJ surgery last month. Also more than pleased seeing Canterino pitch like we expect/hoped. Continue to believe he could be that elusive future ACE. Also more than excited about the week Miller had. No, he won't keep hitting like this every week, but hopefully he has settled in and continues playing very well.
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Minor League Report (5/8): Kernels Win in a Walk-off, Martin Homers on Mother's Day
Always exciting, at least for me, to see how Raya does. Really believe that he has a big future, someday with the Twins. Has anyone else noticed how well Sisk and Schulfer are doing out of the Wichita pen? Sisk didn't do all that well late last year after coming over from St. Louis in whichever trade that was. But he sure is getting it done this spring. And Schulfer hasn't allowed a run in what, nine appearances? Being in AA isn't that far off. Would love to see a UW-M guy pitching for the Twins. Who gets the first promotion from Wichita, Martin or Julien? What a great draft pick, and signing, Julien has become.
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Twins 4, A's 3: Bullpen Completes Sweep of Oakland
Really enjoyed today’s game, Seth. But when will the injuries stop, even for a week or two? I saw that Arraez is on the 10 day IL, is there something else wrong besides COVID? Cannot be happier with our first look at Miranda and Lewis. Is likely best for both to go back to the Saints in the next week or so to build on this experience so when they come back it is for good. Do you think the Twins are assuming that until they hear different, Correa will be gone at the end of the year? If not, wouldn’t they be getting Lewis some games at third or the outfield?
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Minor League Report (5/7): Top Pitching Prospects Galore
Don’t know who I was more excited to see pitching yesterday, Balazovic or Enlow. Like the above comment, Balazovic may have kept any runners from scoring, but there were a lot of guys on base. As for Enlow, was he expected back this soon?
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Twins 1, Athletics 0: Polanco and Pitching Give Twins Eighth Straight Home Win
Like many of you, I was expecting more scoring by the Twins. But let’s remember who wasn’t playing yesterday, Larnach, Correa, Urshela and Arraez. Sanó was also out, although that may not hurt their chances of putting up more runs. Loved the lengthy, detailed report Sherry. Do have a question, however, dealing with your comments about AK. You talk about his surgery to ‘that’ joint, however never define what joint you are referring to.
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Twins Minor League Report (5/6): Promotion Season Is Here
So happy to see Canterino pitching this well. Understand keeping him on a short pitch count. Kid could be that ACE every team dreams of. So after going 4-4 on Thursday, Miller goes 3-5 with a double and home run. Continue believing in this kid’s future. Julien and Martin are similar players. Versatile in the field, very fast with limited power. My question is who will be the better big league player?
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Twins 2, Athletics 1: Game of Firsts Ends in Twins Win
Around the sixth or seventh inning last night, I began thinking about what I was watching. Miranda’s home run in his fourth or fifth game, Lewis playing his first game, Winder’s second start, Larnach’s bat and big arm, Celestino doing very well his second season with the Twins, great prospect AK back with the team with hopefully a pain free wrist, Jeffers the man behind the plate and still young, Ryan and Ober in their second seasons and doing better than expected and Duran throwing 102 out of the pen. WOW! This team is so very young AND talented. The coming five plus years should be a lot of fun!
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Twins Promote Top Prospect Royce Lewis to Take Over at Shortstop
We all hoped Lewis would get off to a tremendous start after missing two full years. But I expect most of us are pleasantly surprised that he has hit this well. What a fantastic night for baseball...Josh Winder on the mound for the Twins with Royce Lewis at shortstop. I for one am so hopeful they are still doing that six, seven years from now.
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Covid Hits Twins Clubhouse
I understand there are lots of questions surrounding what a team can and cannot do this year when hit with COVID. Adding players not on the 40-man may only apply when/if the number of cases are higher than the current situation. Expect we will see Lewis tonight at short as Correa's replacement. May he get off to a great start, please? Is it possible Bundy was a bit under the weather on Wednesday which led to some of his problems on the hill? I certainly hope so.
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Sinclair Announces Details of “Bally Sports+” Streaming Service
Interesting. Also expect this is a small step towards eventually having a menu and being able to choose what channels/packages you want to pay for. Will be interested in seeing what their package will include. I don't understand what 'out of market' is. Is their package only Twins home games? Or is out of market all the other games in MLB or Sinclair/Ballys? Switched from Hulu to Direct TV last month for the sole purpose of getting the Twins this year (and the Wild).
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Minor League Report (5/4): Headrick Fans Ten, Bats Burst in Lowertown
At first I thought no way RJA, as he is so new to the organization. But I guess college players drafted in 2019 are eligible for the Rule 5 this year. Wow, not a lot of time for these guys to prove themselves with the wasted 2020 season. Was great seeing Lewis with a couple hits and hitting over .300. Going to be interesting to see when something opens up for his first taste. With him playing shortstop every day, doesn't seem the Twins are grooming him for another position. Kind of sounds like they are thinking he will be their shortstop in 2023? Had been thinking maybe even August, 2022, but with the way the Twins are playing they aren't going to be sellers this summer! Also good to see Kirilloff with a couple hits. AK is hitting mostly singles, hopefully the power will return once he feels more confident that his injury is behind him. Hopefully, that will be soon as the Twins really need him to man first base. Don't know what to think about Headrick? Is he this year's Louie Varland? Although the season is still very young, sure seems like the kid has a big league future. Isn't it exciting following a lot of the pitchers the Twins have drafted in the second thru ninth rounds the past few years? Their plan seems to be working.