These two weeks or so leading up to the official opening of spring training feature the release of a lot of prospect lists and ratings. Keith Law of ESPN yesterday released his Top 100 list, which is behind ESPN's paywall. I am maintaining my boycott of Insider status with the Worldwide Leader -- Disney sucks enough money from me as a cable subscriber -- so I don't have access to Law's fine work. (He is literally the only reason I ever consider giving ESPN more money.)
But it's clear from my social media feeds that Law continues to be concerned that Jose Berrios' relatively short stature (he's listed at six feet) and lack of "plane" on his fastball will make him home-run prone in the majors. Berrios yielded 12 homers last year across two levels in 167 innings, which isn't a horrid rate but is twice as many as he's given up in any previous season.
BA -- meaning Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press -- lists Berrios as the Twins No. 2 prospect this spring, behind only Byron Buxton. He is, by all accounts, a better pitcher than the one I watched work one game in Cedar Rapids in 2013 He has mastered his changeup and sharpened his curveball. His walk rate has declined from 3.5 per nine innings with CR in 2013 to 2.1 in Double A-Triple A combined last season.
Really, Berrios has nothing more to prove in the minors, and had the Twins not stacked the major league roster with the guaranteed contracts of multiple veteran mid-rotation starters, he'd be set for the opportunity to test his stuff against major league hitters this April. As matters stand, he's going to have to wait for that opportunity.
Showing posts with label Jose Berrios.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jose Berrios.. Show all posts
Friday, February 12, 2016
Friday, September 18, 2015
Notes, quotes and comment
The Twins went from a difficult-to-swallow extra-inning loss on Wednesday to an embarrassing, can't-anybody-pitch one on Thursday.
Score eight runs, you ought to win. All the Twins accomplished with eight runs was force the Angels into a save situation.
A game and a half out of the second wild-card, 16 games to go.
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Ron Gardenhire has been strongly linked with the Detroit Tigers managerial job since last month, when Dave Dombrowski was fired as club president. This week the Star Tribune's LaVelle Neal wrote that Gardy's agent has been "in contact with more than one club about a possible return, according to someone close to Gardenhire,"
Which sounds like the former Twins manager is trying to drum up some competition for his services, or at least the illusion of competition.
The overwhelming trend in dugout bosses in recent years has been for inexperienced managers who are likely to be more receptive to front office "suggestions" than the old hands. Gardenhire does not fit that trend. I find it difficult to imagine that he's going to have multiple teams to choose from.
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I don't believe I've made mention of this before, but both Max Kepler, the outfielder-first baseman who tore up the Southern League for Chattanooga, and Jose Berrios, the right-handed pitcher whose absence from the September call-up list stirred some fan displeasure, were named to the mythical all-prospect teams by both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline.
On Thursday, Kepler hit a pair of homers, one a grand slam, as the Lookouts evened the Southern League championship series with Biloxi.
Score eight runs, you ought to win. All the Twins accomplished with eight runs was force the Angels into a save situation.
A game and a half out of the second wild-card, 16 games to go.
---
Ron Gardenhire has been strongly linked with the Detroit Tigers managerial job since last month, when Dave Dombrowski was fired as club president. This week the Star Tribune's LaVelle Neal wrote that Gardy's agent has been "in contact with more than one club about a possible return, according to someone close to Gardenhire,"
Which sounds like the former Twins manager is trying to drum up some competition for his services, or at least the illusion of competition.
The overwhelming trend in dugout bosses in recent years has been for inexperienced managers who are likely to be more receptive to front office "suggestions" than the old hands. Gardenhire does not fit that trend. I find it difficult to imagine that he's going to have multiple teams to choose from.
---
I don't believe I've made mention of this before, but both Max Kepler, the outfielder-first baseman who tore up the Southern League for Chattanooga, and Jose Berrios, the right-handed pitcher whose absence from the September call-up list stirred some fan displeasure, were named to the mythical all-prospect teams by both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline.
On Thursday, Kepler hit a pair of homers, one a grand slam, as the Lookouts evened the Southern League championship series with Biloxi.
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