The word late Monday night was that Trevor Hildenberger was to be among the second wave of the Twins September call-ups, which is to wash ashore today in Boston.
There isn't a lot to like in Hildenberger's seasonal stat lines this year. The Twins shipped him out in mid-May with an ERA of 8.36, and he spent much of the summer on the injured list for Triple A Rochester. where he put up a 5.09 ERA in 13 games, 17.2 innings.
But he's been either very good or very bad over the years. He didn't allow a run through his first 11 major league appearances this year, and then everything went sour (13 earned runs in 6.1 innings). And he was quite effective at Rochester after returning from his IL stint -- four games, seven innings, one hit, one walk, no runs.
Hildenberger has seldom been so-so. Right now, he appears to be very good. And a very good Hildenberger -- well, any bullpen has room for that pitcher.
Showing posts with label Trevor Hildenberger. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Trevor Hildenberger. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 3, 2019
Thursday, May 16, 2019
A demotion that matters
Trevor Hildenberger wasn't charged with an earned run in his first 12 appearances this season. He was charged with at least two in six of his next eight, including three on Wednesday.
And shortly after that debacle, he lost his job, sent to Triple A with an ERA of 8.36.
The Twins did not immediately announce the corresponding move, although multiple reports had Austin Adams en route to join the team in Seattle, where the Twins play the Mariners tonight. The Mariners also have an Austin Adams, also a right handed reliever; the Twins version has more major league innings on his resume and a worse career ERA. No additional move to fit Adams onto the Twins 49-man roster has been announced either; that will have to come today.
Most demotions involve the fringes of the roster; this one does not. Hildenberger has been one of the four relievers Rocco Baldelli has relied on in high-leverage situations. He is not being replaced by a guy who figures to step into such a role. I have obsessed in this space for weeks about the need for a fifth dependable reliever. This is going backwards.
Hildenberger has a history of running hot and cold. Last summer, after the Twins traded closer Fernando Rodney, he was the defacto closer for a few weeks and wound up with seven saves but an ERA for the season of 5.42. He was charged with at least one run allowed in five of his final seven outings in 2018, including two meltdowns of five and four runs.
I expect Hildenberger to return, eventually. But his problems have severely thinned the Twins bullpen. There are still eight arms out there, but not nearly that many the manager wants to entrust games to.
And shortly after that debacle, he lost his job, sent to Triple A with an ERA of 8.36.
The Twins did not immediately announce the corresponding move, although multiple reports had Austin Adams en route to join the team in Seattle, where the Twins play the Mariners tonight. The Mariners also have an Austin Adams, also a right handed reliever; the Twins version has more major league innings on his resume and a worse career ERA. No additional move to fit Adams onto the Twins 49-man roster has been announced either; that will have to come today.
Most demotions involve the fringes of the roster; this one does not. Hildenberger has been one of the four relievers Rocco Baldelli has relied on in high-leverage situations. He is not being replaced by a guy who figures to step into such a role. I have obsessed in this space for weeks about the need for a fifth dependable reliever. This is going backwards.
Hildenberger has a history of running hot and cold. Last summer, after the Twins traded closer Fernando Rodney, he was the defacto closer for a few weeks and wound up with seven saves but an ERA for the season of 5.42. He was charged with at least one run allowed in five of his final seven outings in 2018, including two meltdowns of five and four runs.
I expect Hildenberger to return, eventually. But his problems have severely thinned the Twins bullpen. There are still eight arms out there, but not nearly that many the manager wants to entrust games to.
Monday, May 13, 2019
Thoughts from the weekend
Must ... resist ... the impluse to read too much into the Detroit series. Splitting with the Tigers isn't a disaster, but it wasn't what I expected either. It was a series in mid May, or perhaps a bit earlier than mid May, with a doubleheader, and Rocco Baldelli gave the reserves a good bit of run.
A few bullet points:
* The Twins got less-than-dominant starts Saturday and Sunday. This was not really a surprise from Michael Pineda and Kohl Stewart, even if the Tigers have a notably light-hitting lineup; it says a lot about how quickly Martin Perez has risen in my esteem that his outing surprised me.
*Deeper thoughts on Pineda and Stewart in the Monday print column.
* A good bit of roster shuffling this weekend connected to the makeup doubleheader Saturday. Stewart came up to start Saturday' second game; officially he was taking the place of Perez, who was on paternity leave for the birth of his son. Tyler Duffey was the 26th man for the doubleheader and pitched a strong inning to wrap up that one.
And La Tortuga is back from the injured list. The Twins cut back to 12 pitchers after Saturday and reactivated Willians Astudillo, who caught and led off Sunday. This makes him the fourth catcher to hit leadoff in Twins history -- John Roseboro, Butch Wynegar in the past and Mitch Garver and Astudillo this year.
* I had expected that, if the Twins were to cut back to 12 pitchers, that Mike Morin would be the loser, but it was Fernando Romero instead. Baldelli, on the radio pregame show Sunday, had an intriguing reason for that: Romero isn't getting enough regular work in the major league bullpen to develop. They want him to pitch two days in a row, to finish an inning and go back out ("up-and-down"), and those opportunities aren't there with the Twins. Or they're there, but it's the Big Four being asked to do them.
* One of those Big Four, Trevor Hildenberger, is definitely in a pitching slump, surrendering a pair of runs both Saturday and Sunday. Again, must resist the urge to overreact -- but Hildenberger has shown a tendency for bad streaks in the past.
* Miguel Sano's rehab tour of the minor leagues is near its end. He's at Triple A now and hammered a couple of doubles over the weekend (and struck out a few times too.) Meanwhile, Nelson Cruz came out of Sunday's game with a sore wrist, which is to be examined today. If Cruz has to sit a while, that probably gets Sano back on the roster without bouncing either Jake Cave or Ehire Adrianza, and opens up a lineup slot as well.
A few bullet points:
* The Twins got less-than-dominant starts Saturday and Sunday. This was not really a surprise from Michael Pineda and Kohl Stewart, even if the Tigers have a notably light-hitting lineup; it says a lot about how quickly Martin Perez has risen in my esteem that his outing surprised me.
*Deeper thoughts on Pineda and Stewart in the Monday print column.
* A good bit of roster shuffling this weekend connected to the makeup doubleheader Saturday. Stewart came up to start Saturday' second game; officially he was taking the place of Perez, who was on paternity leave for the birth of his son. Tyler Duffey was the 26th man for the doubleheader and pitched a strong inning to wrap up that one.
And La Tortuga is back from the injured list. The Twins cut back to 12 pitchers after Saturday and reactivated Willians Astudillo, who caught and led off Sunday. This makes him the fourth catcher to hit leadoff in Twins history -- John Roseboro, Butch Wynegar in the past and Mitch Garver and Astudillo this year.
* I had expected that, if the Twins were to cut back to 12 pitchers, that Mike Morin would be the loser, but it was Fernando Romero instead. Baldelli, on the radio pregame show Sunday, had an intriguing reason for that: Romero isn't getting enough regular work in the major league bullpen to develop. They want him to pitch two days in a row, to finish an inning and go back out ("up-and-down"), and those opportunities aren't there with the Twins. Or they're there, but it's the Big Four being asked to do them.
* One of those Big Four, Trevor Hildenberger, is definitely in a pitching slump, surrendering a pair of runs both Saturday and Sunday. Again, must resist the urge to overreact -- but Hildenberger has shown a tendency for bad streaks in the past.
* Miguel Sano's rehab tour of the minor leagues is near its end. He's at Triple A now and hammered a couple of doubles over the weekend (and struck out a few times too.) Meanwhile, Nelson Cruz came out of Sunday's game with a sore wrist, which is to be examined today. If Cruz has to sit a while, that probably gets Sano back on the roster without bouncing either Jake Cave or Ehire Adrianza, and opens up a lineup slot as well.
Monday, April 15, 2019
Trevor Hildenberger, fireman
The bullpen gave the Twins a bumpy ride this weekend, but the late leads were held and the Twins got their chilly two-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers.
Blake Parker, who appears to be Rocco Baldelli's preferred ninth-inning arm, had consecutive appearances in which he lacked command of his preferred out pitch. He got through the first one on Saturday, but was pulled with one out and the bases loaded Sunday. Trevor Hildenberger threw seven pitches for two strikeouts and had a nice line postgame to discribe it:
Blake Parker, who appears to be Rocco Baldelli's preferred ninth-inning arm, had consecutive appearances in which he lacked command of his preferred out pitch. He got through the first one on Saturday, but was pulled with one out and the bases loaded Sunday. Trevor Hildenberger threw seven pitches for two strikeouts and had a nice line postgame to discribe it:
Trevor Hildenberger on inheriting today’s bases-loaded jam: "Small kitchen fire. Baking soda.”— Dan Hayes (@DanHayesMLB) April 14, 2019
Mitch Garver on Hildenberger: "He's nails.”#MNTwins
Back in the day, before the term "closer" was invented, relief aces were known as "firemen." "Small kitchen fire. Baking soda," is evocative of that old bit of baseball lingo.
Hildenberger has now inherited 14 runners this young seasons. Only three have scored, all in that ugly meltdown inning against the Mets when Jake Odorizzi, Andrew Vasquez and Hildenberger couldn't throw strikes.
For what it's worth, the Twins have five saves -- three for Parker, one for Taylor Rogers and now one for Hildenberger. Of Baldelli's four late-inning options (those three plus Trevor May), Parker is the one in whom I have the least faith. It may be that Parker just needs some warmer weather to rediscover his splitter. At any rate, the guys who got the Twins out of jams late were Rogers and Hildenberger. The roleless bullpen rolls on.
Wednesday, September 26, 2018
Primary colors: Coincidence or evidence?
Kohl Stewart on Tuesday made his eighth appearance with the Twins. The first four were straight-up starts; the most recent four were as a "primary" pitcher, still charged with getting through the lineup at least twice but not pitching the first inning.
He allowed exactly three earned runs in each of the four starts but never finished the fifth inning: a total of 16.1 innings with an ERA of 6.61 and a dismal nine walks (with 11 strikeouts).
In the second four outings, including Tuesday, he worked 20.1 innings, allowing four runs, three earned. ERA: 1.33. The walk-strikeout ratio is better, but not good (nine walks, 13 strikeouts).
Coincidence, or evidence that the "opener" tactic works? Thirty-six innings and change doesn't really settle anything, and there are signs that a lot of luck is involved, but Stewart has been better while avoiding the top of the order while getting settled in. That's part of the theory behind the opener.
Paul Molitor pulled Stewart after six innings, 75 pitches and 21 batters Tuesday, and the bullpen -- specifically Trevor Hildenberger, who is suddenly struggling again -- promptly surrendered four runs. The decision to yank Stewart was second-guessed on social media, with the commentary focused on the 75 pitches.
More important in that decision, I think, is the 21 batters. That's twice through the batting order, plus three hitters. Opener Gabriel Moya faced the first five men, then Stewart began with the Tigers No. 6 hitter (James McCann). Molitor wanted to prevent Stewart from facing the top of the order a third time, and also wanted to give Hildenberger a clean start to the inning.
The pitch count was a secondary consideration. It clearly didn't work, but that's on Hildenberger.
He allowed exactly three earned runs in each of the four starts but never finished the fifth inning: a total of 16.1 innings with an ERA of 6.61 and a dismal nine walks (with 11 strikeouts).
In the second four outings, including Tuesday, he worked 20.1 innings, allowing four runs, three earned. ERA: 1.33. The walk-strikeout ratio is better, but not good (nine walks, 13 strikeouts).
Coincidence, or evidence that the "opener" tactic works? Thirty-six innings and change doesn't really settle anything, and there are signs that a lot of luck is involved, but Stewart has been better while avoiding the top of the order while getting settled in. That's part of the theory behind the opener.
Paul Molitor pulled Stewart after six innings, 75 pitches and 21 batters Tuesday, and the bullpen -- specifically Trevor Hildenberger, who is suddenly struggling again -- promptly surrendered four runs. The decision to yank Stewart was second-guessed on social media, with the commentary focused on the 75 pitches.
More important in that decision, I think, is the 21 batters. That's twice through the batting order, plus three hitters. Opener Gabriel Moya faced the first five men, then Stewart began with the Tigers No. 6 hitter (James McCann). Molitor wanted to prevent Stewart from facing the top of the order a third time, and also wanted to give Hildenberger a clean start to the inning.
The pitch count was a secondary consideration. It clearly didn't work, but that's on Hildenberger.
Friday, August 24, 2018
Trevor Hildenberger, committee chairman
Trevor Hildenberger pitched Thursday night. It wasn't a brilliant outing -- he served up another homer -- but he got the final three outs. It was an "easy" save, in the parlance of Baseball Info Systems, which tracks the difficulty of save opportunties.
Sine the Fernando Rodney trade as announced Aug. 9, Hildenberger has appeared in five games. He has four saves and a win and was the final pitcher each time. The only save opportunity granted to anybody else came immediately after people started to suggest that Hildenberger was the new closer, as if to prove that no he isn't.
Paul Molitor says it's a committee to close. He may even believe that. But if it's a committee, Hildenberger is clearly the chairman. Molitor handled his bullpen, which had to get 13 of the 27 outs, as he would have to get to his closer -- four outs from one guy, three from the next, divvy up the eighth between a lefty and a righty, and now it's the ninth and time for the star to enter.
Sine the Fernando Rodney trade as announced Aug. 9, Hildenberger has appeared in five games. He has four saves and a win and was the final pitcher each time. The only save opportunity granted to anybody else came immediately after people started to suggest that Hildenberger was the new closer, as if to prove that no he isn't.
Paul Molitor says it's a committee to close. He may even believe that. But if it's a committee, Hildenberger is clearly the chairman. Molitor handled his bullpen, which had to get 13 of the 27 outs, as he would have to get to his closer -- four outs from one guy, three from the next, divvy up the eighth between a lefty and a righty, and now it's the ninth and time for the star to enter.
Thursday, August 16, 2018
Trevor Hildenberger, closer
It is a staple of managerial caution: The closer's job becomes vacant (trade, injury, ineffectiveness) and the skipper says he'll use a "committee" for the ninth inning -- and almost immediately slides one reliever into the ninth inning role.
That's what Paul Molitor did last year when Brandon Kintzler was traded: proclaim a committee and slide Matt Belisle into the role. He did get some long saves from Tyler Duffey and Dillon Gee, but it was Belisle for three outs.
The Twins have had three save opportunities since Fernando Rodney was traded. Trevor Hildenberger got each of them, including Tuesday and Wednesday.
Molitor may not want to proclaim Hildenberger as closer, but what he does is more important than what he says. Hildenberger hasn't pitched in anything other than a ninth-inning save situation since the Rodney trade, and nobody else has pitched in a ninth-inning save situation.
That's what Paul Molitor did last year when Brandon Kintzler was traded: proclaim a committee and slide Matt Belisle into the role. He did get some long saves from Tyler Duffey and Dillon Gee, but it was Belisle for three outs.
The Twins have had three save opportunities since Fernando Rodney was traded. Trevor Hildenberger got each of them, including Tuesday and Wednesday.
Molitor may not want to proclaim Hildenberger as closer, but what he does is more important than what he says. Hildenberger hasn't pitched in anything other than a ninth-inning save situation since the Rodney trade, and nobody else has pitched in a ninth-inning save situation.
Thursday, August 9, 2018
Trevor Hildenberger and a too-thin bullpen
Forty-some years ago whoever The Sporting News had as its correspondent for the then-California Angels referred constantly to that team's bullpen as "the Arson Squad." It's rare today to see a relief ace called a "fireman," but you get the idea.
Trevor Hildenberger today is more an arsonist than a fireman. Wednesday marked three straight appearances for him with a home run allowed. I won't pretend to know what the problem is; I know there's a problem.
Underlying the Hildenberger-specific problem that's leading to all the long balls is one of roster construction. The Twins have too many bullpen guys Paul Molitor doesn't want to use in game situations -- like the ninth inning of a tied game, which was the situation Wednesday when Hildenberger served up his most recent tater.
Fernando Rodney and Taylor Rogers, yes. Beyond that, with the trades of Zach Duke and Ryan Pressly ... the abyss.
Hildenberger is the favored arm of the rest of the pen partly because he has had some success, partly because he's (presumably) sound and partly because he's right handed.
Gabriel Moya is getting some work as a second lefty; essentially Rogers has moved into Duke's role as the favored lefty and Moya has moved into Rogers' old role. Fine.
Trevor May -- who did pitch Wednesday -- is in a rehab season after his Tommy John surgery. I assume Molitor wants to avoid using May on consecutive days.
Addison Reed is supposed to be a bullpen factor, but he has pitched just twice since coming off the disabled list, on July 31 and Aug 4. If he needs that much rest between outings, he probably shouldn't be active.
Matt Magill -- another guy who did pitch Wednesday -- has been pigeonholed as a long man for much of the season. Molitor has been reluctant to use him late in games, and nine of his first 25 appearances came with leads or deficits of more than four runs.
And Oliver Drake -- I haven't the slightest notion what he and his 7.31 ERA (compiled on a major league record five teams, including the Twins) is doing on this roster. I do know what he isn't doing, and that's pitching.
At least the overmatched Matt Belisle is off the active roster -- not DFA'd, but on the disabled list. This means we will probably get another dose of him next month at the latest. Oh joy.
Trevor Hildenberger today is more an arsonist than a fireman. Wednesday marked three straight appearances for him with a home run allowed. I won't pretend to know what the problem is; I know there's a problem.
Underlying the Hildenberger-specific problem that's leading to all the long balls is one of roster construction. The Twins have too many bullpen guys Paul Molitor doesn't want to use in game situations -- like the ninth inning of a tied game, which was the situation Wednesday when Hildenberger served up his most recent tater.
Fernando Rodney and Taylor Rogers, yes. Beyond that, with the trades of Zach Duke and Ryan Pressly ... the abyss.
Hildenberger is the favored arm of the rest of the pen partly because he has had some success, partly because he's (presumably) sound and partly because he's right handed.
Gabriel Moya is getting some work as a second lefty; essentially Rogers has moved into Duke's role as the favored lefty and Moya has moved into Rogers' old role. Fine.
Trevor May -- who did pitch Wednesday -- is in a rehab season after his Tommy John surgery. I assume Molitor wants to avoid using May on consecutive days.
Addison Reed is supposed to be a bullpen factor, but he has pitched just twice since coming off the disabled list, on July 31 and Aug 4. If he needs that much rest between outings, he probably shouldn't be active.
Matt Magill -- another guy who did pitch Wednesday -- has been pigeonholed as a long man for much of the season. Molitor has been reluctant to use him late in games, and nine of his first 25 appearances came with leads or deficits of more than four runs.
And Oliver Drake -- I haven't the slightest notion what he and his 7.31 ERA (compiled on a major league record five teams, including the Twins) is doing on this roster. I do know what he isn't doing, and that's pitching.
At least the overmatched Matt Belisle is off the active roster -- not DFA'd, but on the disabled list. This means we will probably get another dose of him next month at the latest. Oh joy.
Wednesday, August 8, 2018
Contemplating Trevor Hildenberger
Trevor Hildenberger pitched the eighth inning on June 28. He faced three hitters, retired them all, turned a one-run lead over to closer Fernando Rodney and the Twins won. His ERA at the end of that game was 2.06.
Trevor Hildenberger pitched the eighth inning Tuesday night. Other than that he turned a one-run lead over to closer Fernando Rodney and the Twins won, it had little in common with the June 28 hold. Hildenberger allowed three hits (including a homer) and two runs.
And his ERA after the outing was 4.07. That's a pretty sharp increase in little more than a month of relief work.
The biggest issue for Hildenberger this year has been home runs. The long ball he surrendered Tuesday night (to Francisco Lindor) was his eighth in 55.1 innings. That's 1.3 homers per nine innings, and that's way too high for a late-inning guy.
But his walk rate is up a bit from 2017 and his strikeout rate down slightly as well. Those numbers aren't terrible this year -- not like the home run rate -- but those declines aren't helping.
But I literally don't see anybody on this roster who is likely to get an opportunity to supplant Hildenberger as the primary right-handed bridge to Rodney. Addison Reed, who had that job at season's start, has been even more homer-prone than Hildenberger and has been given plenty of rest between outings since his return from the disabled list. Hildenberger is going to get an opportunity to work his way out of this slump.
Trevor Hildenberger pitched the eighth inning Tuesday night. Other than that he turned a one-run lead over to closer Fernando Rodney and the Twins won, it had little in common with the June 28 hold. Hildenberger allowed three hits (including a homer) and two runs.
And his ERA after the outing was 4.07. That's a pretty sharp increase in little more than a month of relief work.
The biggest issue for Hildenberger this year has been home runs. The long ball he surrendered Tuesday night (to Francisco Lindor) was his eighth in 55.1 innings. That's 1.3 homers per nine innings, and that's way too high for a late-inning guy.
But his walk rate is up a bit from 2017 and his strikeout rate down slightly as well. Those numbers aren't terrible this year -- not like the home run rate -- but those declines aren't helping.
But I literally don't see anybody on this roster who is likely to get an opportunity to supplant Hildenberger as the primary right-handed bridge to Rodney. Addison Reed, who had that job at season's start, has been even more homer-prone than Hildenberger and has been given plenty of rest between outings since his return from the disabled list. Hildenberger is going to get an opportunity to work his way out of this slump.
Thursday, July 12, 2018
Contemplating Addison Reed
The Twins put Addison Reed on the disabled list (triceps) Wednesday and recalled Alan Busenitz from Triple A. This is at least the third call-up for Busenitz this year, maybe four. None have been for very long.
This is apparently Reed's first time on the DL, which is rather impressive for a hard-used reliever in this era. It probably ensures that he won't be traded this month, not that his pitching of late was making any contenders salivate at the thought of adding him.
Reed was supplanted weeks ago in the bullpen heirarchy as the primary set-up man by Trevor Hildenberger, which seemed plausible even after Reed's signing. Hildenberger had a rough spring training, I think in part because he was working on a breaking ball, and there was no question coming into the season that Paul Molitor trusted Reed more.
But that's changed. Reed's now allowed eight homers in 41 innings, and several of those long balls led directly to losses.
To a degree, heirarchy matters less than depth. Good teams need deep bullpens, the deeper the better. Whether as the primary eight-inning guy or a seven-inning guy or a strand-these-runners specialist, Reed was supposed to deepen the Twins 'pen. By the time he conceded that there was a problem affecting his pitching, he was unusable in game situations. Now it's Busenitz's turn, at least for a while.
This is apparently Reed's first time on the DL, which is rather impressive for a hard-used reliever in this era. It probably ensures that he won't be traded this month, not that his pitching of late was making any contenders salivate at the thought of adding him.
Reed was supplanted weeks ago in the bullpen heirarchy as the primary set-up man by Trevor Hildenberger, which seemed plausible even after Reed's signing. Hildenberger had a rough spring training, I think in part because he was working on a breaking ball, and there was no question coming into the season that Paul Molitor trusted Reed more.
But that's changed. Reed's now allowed eight homers in 41 innings, and several of those long balls led directly to losses.
To a degree, heirarchy matters less than depth. Good teams need deep bullpens, the deeper the better. Whether as the primary eight-inning guy or a seven-inning guy or a strand-these-runners specialist, Reed was supposed to deepen the Twins 'pen. By the time he conceded that there was a problem affecting his pitching, he was unusable in game situations. Now it's Busenitz's turn, at least for a while.
Wednesday, March 14, 2018
Spring training trip: Final day
Lance Lynn had his introductory press conference in the morning. In the afternoon, he threw three hitless innings inhis first exhibition start. He was clearly laboring in that third and final inning.
As advertised, Lynn threw mostly fast balls, and the stadium gun had him at 93 and 94 mph repeatedly.
That was the good news on the pitching front in the exhibition The bad news: Fernando Rodney, Trevor Hildenberger and Taylor Rogers -- three key relievers -- all gave up runs, with Hildenberger and Rogers each surrendering homers.
For what it's worth:
As advertised, Lynn threw mostly fast balls, and the stadium gun had him at 93 and 94 mph repeatedly.
That was the good news on the pitching front in the exhibition The bad news: Fernando Rodney, Trevor Hildenberger and Taylor Rogers -- three key relievers -- all gave up runs, with Hildenberger and Rogers each surrendering homers.
For what it's worth:
Molitor said he's "not overly concerned" about rocky springs for Hildy and Rogers.— Mike Berardino (@MikeBerardino) March 13, 2018
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Miguel Sano played third and made two plays that required him to move with no problem. I'm inclined to regard the concern about his mobility following his stress reaction surgery as overblown.
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We're headed home this morning. The locals grumbled the entire time we were here about how cold it was. It was still pretty warn for March to a Minnesotan.
Monday, August 7, 2017
Getting some relief
The Twins on Sunday had their first save opp since the Brandon Kintzler trade -- really, the first time in more than a week that the bullpen was asked to protect a lead, as Ervin Santana and Bartolo Colon had complete games in their two wins last week.
The 'pen came through: Trevor Hildenberger threw two scoreless innings, Taylor Rogers got through the eighth and Matt Belisle worked a perfect ninth for his first save since 2012.
Not the way I would prefer, but it worked.
Dick Bremer at least twice, and maybe more, invoked Belisle's "senior status" Sunday as justification for giving him at least a share of the closer role. Bremer may be an imperfect conduit for the mind of Paul Molitor, but my working assumption is that the broadcasters for a team reflect the thinking of management. If Molitor genuinely prefers Belisle late in games because he's got more years in the pension plan than anybody else, that's a bad sign.
The veteran has been getting outs more consistently than anybody else in the bullpen for weeks now; Belisle hasn't been charged with a run, earned or unearned, since June. Rogers, meanwhile, had allowed at least one run in six straight appearances befors Sunday.
At least Hildenberger finally got to pitch with a narrow lead.
---
A couple other notes about the pitching staff:
Dillon Gee isn't, as I assumed when he was called up last week, filling the rotation spot vacated by the Jaime Garcia trade. He made his Twins debut in relief, and Kyle Gibson was returned for Saturday's start. It was SOG -- same old Gibson. He got 16 outs and allowed nine baserunners; this is not a good OBP allowed.
And the return of Glen Perkins to the major league bullpen is presumably imminent. Perkins was in the Twin Cities this weekend and will throw what is described as "an extended bullpen session" today, then report to Double-A Chattanooga to continue his rehab assignment. The plan is for him to pitch three times, including one set of back-to-back days.
His rehab assignment officially expires on the 20th. He apparently expects to be back before then. Even with the bullpen roles unsettled, I wouldn't expect Perkins to step back into the ninth inning immediately. But then, I didn't expect Belisle to get the ball in the ninth inning after the Kintzler deal.
The 'pen came through: Trevor Hildenberger threw two scoreless innings, Taylor Rogers got through the eighth and Matt Belisle worked a perfect ninth for his first save since 2012.
Not the way I would prefer, but it worked.
Dick Bremer at least twice, and maybe more, invoked Belisle's "senior status" Sunday as justification for giving him at least a share of the closer role. Bremer may be an imperfect conduit for the mind of Paul Molitor, but my working assumption is that the broadcasters for a team reflect the thinking of management. If Molitor genuinely prefers Belisle late in games because he's got more years in the pension plan than anybody else, that's a bad sign.
The veteran has been getting outs more consistently than anybody else in the bullpen for weeks now; Belisle hasn't been charged with a run, earned or unearned, since June. Rogers, meanwhile, had allowed at least one run in six straight appearances befors Sunday.
At least Hildenberger finally got to pitch with a narrow lead.
---
A couple other notes about the pitching staff:
Dillon Gee isn't, as I assumed when he was called up last week, filling the rotation spot vacated by the Jaime Garcia trade. He made his Twins debut in relief, and Kyle Gibson was returned for Saturday's start. It was SOG -- same old Gibson. He got 16 outs and allowed nine baserunners; this is not a good OBP allowed.
And the return of Glen Perkins to the major league bullpen is presumably imminent. Perkins was in the Twin Cities this weekend and will throw what is described as "an extended bullpen session" today, then report to Double-A Chattanooga to continue his rehab assignment. The plan is for him to pitch three times, including one set of back-to-back days.
His rehab assignment officially expires on the 20th. He apparently expects to be back before then. Even with the bullpen roles unsettled, I wouldn't expect Perkins to step back into the ninth inning immediately. But then, I didn't expect Belisle to get the ball in the ninth inning after the Kintzler deal.
Friday, June 23, 2017
Chris Gimenez, Nik Turley and more pitching moves
Thurday's rain delay was apparently the longest in Twins history -- five hours -- and it sure didn't take long for the Twins to suspect that they should have just postponed it.
It was still the first inning when I sent this tweet:
And sure enough, the Twins backup catcher pitched the ninth inning, his sixth pitching appearance of the season.
There was a lot of chatter leading up to the draft about two-way players, and the question arises: At what point to we consider Gimenez a two-way player? My answer is: When his pitching is not limited to the ninth inning of blowout losses.
That said, Gimenez has now pitched five innings with a 7.20 ERA this season. The Twins have used 25 pitchers (and counting; two new names, Dillon Gee and Trevor Hildenberger, are being called up). Six of them have worse ERAs than Gimenez and eight have fewer appearances.
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Nik Turley is one of the six and of the eight (ERA 16.39 in three games, all starts, total of 9.1 innings). The Twins merely optioned him out rather than designating him for assignment Thursday, but the Twins need to make space on the 40-man roster today for both Gee and Hildenberger, and DFAing Turley is an obvious possibility.
I feel for the guy. He was a 50th round draft pick, spent a decade in minors, finally gets to the show and gets three starts, every one of which goes poorly, every one worse than the one preceeding it.
Indeed, he may be the least effective pitcher in Twins history, although I'm not sure how to weigh ERA vs. opportunity. For example: Randy Rosario has an ERA of 30.86, but Turley has seven more innings and two decisions.
Having written that, I looked up Steve Carlton's Twins record. The no-doubt-about-it Hall of Famer pitched 53.2 innings for the Twins at the end of his marvelous career with an 8.54 ERA, going 1-6 in 1987-88. Andy MacPhail and Tom Kelly gave him a lot of rope.
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As for the new guys: Gee was signed to a minor league deal earlier this week, and presumably he's going to take Turley's rotation berth, although I wouldn't care to wager that he's ready to go deep into his first start. As I said when he signed, I don't expect much.
Hildenberger is a sidearming right-handed reliever who has shot up the minor league system, posting some ridiculous ERAs in the process. Last season he had a combined 0.75 at two levels (high A and Double A). That is not a typo: Zero point seven five. This year's ERA is a more normal 2.05 with 35 strikeouts in 30.1 innings at Triple A. That K-rate is roughly what he's posted consistently.
No velocity; if he threw hard he would have been up earlier. I don't know how his style is going to fare in the majors and particularly against lefties, but
He calls to mind Anthony Slama. another funky righty who never got a real chance with the Twins despite some overwhelming minor league numbers. Slama had some bad timing with injuries, but at the core of his lack of opportunites was a belief that his minor league success was based on minor league hitters chasing pitches out of the strike zone. Slama always walked more guys than Hildenberger has, though.
It was still the first inning when I sent this tweet:
It's early, but I think Chris Gimenez is likely to pitch in this one— Edward Thoma (@bboutsider) June 22, 2017
And sure enough, the Twins backup catcher pitched the ninth inning, his sixth pitching appearance of the season.
There was a lot of chatter leading up to the draft about two-way players, and the question arises: At what point to we consider Gimenez a two-way player? My answer is: When his pitching is not limited to the ninth inning of blowout losses.
That said, Gimenez has now pitched five innings with a 7.20 ERA this season. The Twins have used 25 pitchers (and counting; two new names, Dillon Gee and Trevor Hildenberger, are being called up). Six of them have worse ERAs than Gimenez and eight have fewer appearances.
---
Nik Turley is one of the six and of the eight (ERA 16.39 in three games, all starts, total of 9.1 innings). The Twins merely optioned him out rather than designating him for assignment Thursday, but the Twins need to make space on the 40-man roster today for both Gee and Hildenberger, and DFAing Turley is an obvious possibility.
I feel for the guy. He was a 50th round draft pick, spent a decade in minors, finally gets to the show and gets three starts, every one of which goes poorly, every one worse than the one preceeding it.
Indeed, he may be the least effective pitcher in Twins history, although I'm not sure how to weigh ERA vs. opportunity. For example: Randy Rosario has an ERA of 30.86, but Turley has seven more innings and two decisions.
Having written that, I looked up Steve Carlton's Twins record. The no-doubt-about-it Hall of Famer pitched 53.2 innings for the Twins at the end of his marvelous career with an 8.54 ERA, going 1-6 in 1987-88. Andy MacPhail and Tom Kelly gave him a lot of rope.
---
As for the new guys: Gee was signed to a minor league deal earlier this week, and presumably he's going to take Turley's rotation berth, although I wouldn't care to wager that he's ready to go deep into his first start. As I said when he signed, I don't expect much.
Hildenberger is a sidearming right-handed reliever who has shot up the minor league system, posting some ridiculous ERAs in the process. Last season he had a combined 0.75 at two levels (high A and Double A). That is not a typo: Zero point seven five. This year's ERA is a more normal 2.05 with 35 strikeouts in 30.1 innings at Triple A. That K-rate is roughly what he's posted consistently.
No velocity; if he threw hard he would have been up earlier. I don't know how his style is going to fare in the majors and particularly against lefties, but
- he's been getting outs in the minors and
- the Twins are in no position to ignore that.
He calls to mind Anthony Slama. another funky righty who never got a real chance with the Twins despite some overwhelming minor league numbers. Slama had some bad timing with injuries, but at the core of his lack of opportunites was a belief that his minor league success was based on minor league hitters chasing pitches out of the strike zone. Slama always walked more guys than Hildenberger has, though.
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