Doug T

I dunno the difference of mid to back of rotation type pitchers is pretty minimal. in career ERA/FIP/WHIP/Kper9. Is there really that much difference? Pelfrey 4.45/4.20/1.473/5.1 Santana 4.21/4.30/1.287/7.2 Nolasco 4.50/3.80/1.320/7.3 Hughers 4.34/4.06/1.283/7.4 Diamond 4.43/4.46/1.405/4.2

Also frustrating is when you commit to three #3/#4/starting to look back of the rotation guys for 10+ million each, you could just spend 20 million/year on an ace type pitcher and hope you scrounge a Tommy Milone type player to fill out the rotation. We lucked out on that one. Milone is not dazzling but his numbers are very similar to our 12 million dollar prize free agent arms. Plus, by avoiding committing to the free agent crap shoot, you don't switch May to bullpen since he has the best K rate by far and he's young and could develop into a legit pitcher. Maybe you spend some of that money on bullpen help since that has proved to be a huge hole down the stretch and easily predicted with the scrap heaps of arms we cart out there. This year was going to be tough since our best prospects Berrios and Duffey were not ready, although they are starting to seem ready now, late season. Going forward I'd like to see Berrios, Duffey, May, Gibson, and whoever between Pelfrey and Hughes is sucking less at the time rather than the supposed "#3" arms Nolasco and Santana. The Twins will probably continue to maroon their most talented arm May in the bullpen they so woefully neglected. Probably the reason for the dearth of farm system talent for starters over the past decade or so has a lot to do with the Twins maddening preference for control type guys with weak stuff but low walk rates. I'm fine with a guy or two like that on the staff but a whole staff of low K rate dudes is doomed to fail. They also inexplicably have wasted a lot of high picks on college relievers. None have panned out that I recall. They had some honest bad luck, too, but their strategy invited it since converting relivers to starters is a dicey propositon for a high pick and picking guys with average stuff in the first place lowers their ceiling.