MIN vs TOR (May 6-8)

So_Fresh · Post #1 » by **So_Fresh** » Mon May 6, 2019 10:14 pm

Game 1: Martin Perez L vs Marcus Stroman R

2B Eric Sogard L
SS F. Galvis S
CF R. Grichuk R
1B Justin Smoak S
3B V. Guerrero Jr. R
DH Rowdy Tellez L
RF B. Drury R
LF T. Hernandez R
C Danny Jansen R

BigLeagueChew · Post #2 » by **BigLeagueChew** » Mon May 6, 2019 11:34 pm

Twins lead the league in ISO, tied with the Astros in SLG. Top 5 wRC+.

GameChannel · Post #3 » by **GameChannel** » Tue May 7, 2019 12:13 am

Why the hell is vladdy still batting fifth? Move him down the order.. !!

Post #4 » by **Schad** » Tue May 7, 2019 12:28 am

Because our games don't even remotely matter, and we'd rather get more at-bats for the best hitting prospect we've ever had.

Tigersrule · Post #5 » by **Tigersrule** » Tue May 7, 2019 12:31 am

stroman has come bak down to earth

BigLeagueChew · Post #6 » by **BigLeagueChew** » Tue May 7, 2019 12:38 am

brutal call

So_Fresh · Post #7 » by **So_Fresh** » Tue May 7, 2019 12:38 am

why would anyone want to go and watch this garbage of a team?

Guerrero continues to struggle. Getting a bit worried now.

BigLeagueChew · Post #8 » by **BigLeagueChew** » Tue May 7, 2019 12:39 am

and another brutal call

So_Fresh · Post #9 » by **So_Fresh** » Tue May 7, 2019 12:40 am

Tigersrule wrote:stroman has come bak down to earth

wonder if those trade rumors are affecting his game. who's the idiot who said the Blue Jays were looking to trade him, Sanchez and Smoak? Wtf would you come out and say that?

BigLeagueChew · Post #10 » by **BigLeagueChew** » Tue May 7, 2019 12:41 am

So_Fresh wrote:
wonder if those trade rumors are affecting his game. who's the idiot who said the Blue Jays were looking to trade him, Sanchez and Smoak? Wtf would you come out and say that?

Ken Rosenthal. Because it's a very likely scenario.

Post #11 » by **Schad** » Tue May 7, 2019 1:15 am

Also, keep in mind that we aren't the only people capable of talking to the media. There's a very good chance that Rosie's source was an executive with one of the teams we've briefed on the availability of those players. Something that we'd naturally be doing, and were doing back in the winter, as well.

rapstarter · Post #12 » by **rapstarter** » Tue May 7, 2019 1:23 am

So is there a material chance that Vlady's sent back down this season?

GameChannel · Post #13 » by **GameChannel** » Tue May 7, 2019 2:41 am

rapstarter wrote:So is there a material chance that Vlady's sent back down this season?

I'd sure as hell hope so. He's lost at the plate. Too much pressure on him. He needs to be sent down to clear his head, get some hits under his belt and come up again. He's been terrible so far.

Natural11 · Post #14 » by **Natural11** » Tue May 7, 2019 2:47 am

rapstarter wrote:So is there a material chance that Vlady's sent back down this season?

Not sure there's much value in getting him more ABs in the minors. He tore it up across all levels. Once he gets his timing down, he will be fine.

In the short term it's whether or not he can play even passable defense at a major league level. Given his weight, if I were in the Jays shoes I would be reluctant to make him a DH this early in this career. You want him out there working.

Given the chances they gave Grichuk last year and what they have invested in Vladdy, I would expect a long leash. But if he's still scuffling in a month, who knows, maybe they do consider another stint to rebuild his confidence if it should come to that.

Post #15 » by **Schad** » Tue May 7, 2019 3:02 am

Good grief. For a year, we were hearing about how it was a cardinal sin that we were leaving him in the minors when he was clearly ready to anchor our lineup. Now, after 9 games, it's time to wave the white flag and send him down.

He needs no lessons in hitting minor league pitching. What he needs to adjust to, specifically, is major league pitchers painting edges (currently, he's facing more pitches on the corners than Mike Trout or Cody Bellinger, and he isn't getting the friendliest of zones on those), something he isn't going to learn in the minors.

As a whole, people are waaaaaaaay too ready to react to a handful of games. Galvis was a core piece after two weeks, now replaced by Sogard. Vlad needs to go back to the minors because he hasn't been thumping the ball straight out of the gate. Half the team should be DFAed.

He'll be fine. Chill.

The_Hater · Post #16 » by **The_Hater** » Tue May 7, 2019 3:19 am

GameChannel wrote:Why the hell is vladdy still batting fifth? Move him down the order.. !!

I would love to hear your logic behind this....

Wait, no I wouldn’t. :roll:

Post #17 » by **Schad** » Tue May 7, 2019 4:44 am

So, I made a thing. Red = swinging, either a whiff or foul. Yellow = called strike. Green = called ball. Blue = in play.

This is in reverse chronological order...latest game on top, heading down to his first game. Each line represents one game. I'm missing a PA in there somewhere, but am not going to go back through to figure out which one. I'll edit it in if anyone figures out which.

Post #18 » by **Schad** » Tue May 7, 2019 5:13 am

A few things stand out.

One, he's seeing very few pitches that touch the middle-middle sector. He's putting most of those in play; the issue is that he's been chopping down on the ball a bit, and consequently hitting hard ground balls (his exit velocity isn't terrible) rather than thumping them into the outfield.

Second, not only are pitchers nibbling to a crazy extent, he really isn't getting calls on the corners. Part of that might be the "rookies have to earn it" thing, but I can't help but wonder whether his demonstrativeness is hurting...umpires really don't seem to like it when kids react to fringy calls. He's had a couple genuinely poor at-bats where he went fishing, but he's had a lot more with pitches there or thereabouts.

One noticeable trend: after mostly pitching him off the outside corner, he's starting to see more on the inside edge as well, which demonstrates the degree to which major league pitchers will adjust even before you've fully adjusted to them. Jamming him with fastballs keeps him from getting too comfortable leaning out over the plate, and has produced some weak contact.

Pitchers reaaaaaally aren't giving in. Check the long at-bats; there's an awful lot of pitches in 3-1 and 3-2 counts that are anything but get-me-overs.

Ultimately, he has to prove that he do something with the pitches on the outside edge, even it's merely spoiling them. Part of that, likely, is waiting back a little more; he's trying to crush everything pull-side at the moment, and might need to wait a touch and try to use the middle of the field more. He's a pull-side power hitter, but right now the risk-reward favours nibbling, even though he's getting his fair share of walks, because he hasn't done much with them when he isn't walking.

GameChannel · Post #19 » by **GameChannel** » Tue May 7, 2019 5:31 am

The_Hater wrote:
GameChannel wrote:Why the hell is vladdy still batting fifth? Move him down the order.. !!

I would love to hear your logic behind this....

Wait, no I wouldn’t.

Simple. You move your more productive hitter in Tellez up until Vladdy shows he can get on base somehow. Can you explain to me why must he continue to bat higher up the order when he's not hitting?

Post #20 » by **Schad** » Tue May 7, 2019 6:17 am

GameChannel wrote:
Simple. You move your more productive hitter in Tellez up until Vladdy shows he can get on base somehow. Can you explain to me why must he continue to bat higher up the order when he's not hitting?

Our baseball games Do. Not. Matter. Winning or losing does not matter. We're a complete non-factor in terms of post-season and were long before the season began. What matters is the development of our younger players, with a priority placed on our best younger players. Vlad is the single best hitting prospect we have had in our franchise's history. That means that we have every reason to get him more plate appearances.