With the excitement late in the season, my computer being broken, and the work I had to do, this is way late. But it's here now.
September
Record: 16-11
Best record at any point (games above .500): 82-74
Worst record at any point (games below .500): 70-72
Days in first (and biggest lead): 0 (2.0 GB)
Days in last (and furthest out of first): 0 (7.0 GB)
Longest win streak: 6 games
Longest losing streak: 3 games
Runs scored/runs against: 126/104
Most runs scored/most runs allowed: 11/12
Shutouts/times shut out: 3/0
Extra inning games: 1
Longest game: 10 innings
Hitter of the month: Michael Cuddyer (103 AB, 13 R, 8 HR, 24 RBI, 4 BB:18 K, 1 SB, .282/.321/.563)
After Justin Morneau went down with his injury, with the Twins 7 games behind the Tigers, all seemed lost. It was largely thanks to Cuddyer that the Twins were able to make up the seemingly insurmountable deficit. Not only did he fill the need at first base, he hit the best he had the entire year, and did it in the clutch too. He came up with 8 games with over .100 WPA after Morneau went down, including the huge go-ahead home run against the Royals with two games left in the regular season.
Bizarro World hitter of the month: Justin Morneau (39 AB, 2 R, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 5 BB:8 K, 0 SB, .077/.178/.179)
I hate to pick on Morneau when he was battling through an injured back, but it just wasn't even close. Morneau had only 3 hits in 39 at bats, and every other player with more than 45 at bats had at least a .744 OPS. In order to catch Detroit, everyone had to play well; meaning that it was the one who wasn't playing then who gets this award. At least he got his 30th home run and 100th RBI before he went down for the season.
Pitcher of the month: Jesse Crain (3-0, 13.1 IP, 5 H, 6 BB, 7 K, 0.00/0.83)
Crain was demoted earlier this year, but he came back strong in September to play a role in Minnesota's comeback. Though he had a very weak K:BB ratio, he limited baserunners, didn't allow a single run, and contributed a positive WPA in 12 of the 15 games he pitched. The 3 games in October didn't go as well, since he allowed runs in 2 of those appearances, including a go-ahead run in the 10th inning of the play-in game. But that wasn't September, so it doesn't count.
Bizarro World pitcher of the month: Jeff Manship (0-1, 19.1 IP, 22 H, 11 BB, 14 K, 6.05/1.71)
Manship was booted out of the starting rotation briefly in September, and for good reason. He lasted 5 innings just once in 4 starts, and allowed at least 3 runs in 3 of those starts. All in all, it wasn't a horrible showing from a rookie making his first starts in the big leagues, but most everyone else picked up their game in the Twins' push for the postseason, leaving Manship as the recipient of this award.
October
Record: 5-0
Best record at any point (games above .500): 87-76
Worst record at any point (games below .500): 82-76
Days in first (and biggest lead): 3 (1.0 GB)
Days in last (and furthest out of first): 0 (2.0 GB)
Longest win streak: 5 games
Longest losing streak: 0 games
Runs scored/runs against: 42/23
Most runs scored/most runs allowed: 13/7
Shutouts/times shut out: 0/0
Extra inning games: 1
Longest game: 12 innings
Showing posts with label monthsummary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label monthsummary. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
A Look Back at August
For the third time in five months, the Twins played exactly .500 ball, finishing August at 14-14. It was not a steady month, though, as the Twins played horrible baseball for the first half of the month, winning just 4 of 15 games, and then finished strong by winning 10 of their final 13 games. That culminated in Minnesota being above .500 for the first time since July 31st.
Record: 14-14
Best record at any point (games above .500): 66-65
Worst record at any point (games below .500): 56-62
Days in first (and biggest lead): 0 (2.5 GB)
Days in last (and furthest out of first): 0 (6.5 GB)
Longest win streak: 5 games
Longest losing streak: 3 games
Runs scored/runs against: 148/151
Most runs scored/most runs allowed: 11/14
Shutouts/times shut out: 2/1
Extra inning games: 1
Longest game: 10 innings
Hitter of the month: Joe Mauer (115 AB, 21 R, 8 HR, 23 RBI, 12 BB:9 K, 3 SB, .391/.449/.652)
It was another spectacular month in a monumental season for Joe Mauer. If not for a sub-par final week, this may have looked very similar to his performance in May when he hit over .400 and got on base half the time. In August, though, he threw in an added bonus of a few stolen bases to make his skill-set complete.
Bizarro World hitter of the month: Nick Punto (51 AB, 6 R, 0 HR, 5 RBI, 6 BB:16 K, 1 SB, .235/.310/.294)
For the fifth time in as many months, a middle infielder lands in this spot, and Punto receives it for the second time this year. Despite finally finding the bench towards the end of August, he did enough damage in his playing time to warrant this. He struck out in almost 1/3 of his at bats and yet again had a slugging percentage under .300, something he's avoided in only one month this season.
Pitcher of the month: Scott Baker (4-0, 39.2 IP, 33 H, 5 BB, 29 K, 3.18/0.96)
Baker continues to pitch well after a stint on the disabled list to start the season and a rough few weeks after that. In August he had his lowest ERA of any month and allowed opponents to bat just .220. In four of his six August starts he pitched at least seven innings, and in six of his last nine starts he's allowed 2 runs or fewer. Jose Mijares was the best reliever for the Twins in August.
Bizarro World pitcher of the month: Anthony Swarzak (0-4, 13.1 IP, 33 H, 3 BB, 8 K, 14.85/2.70)
He's back in Rochester now, but Swarzak made four starts for the Twins in August. He lost each of those four starts, lasting until the fifth inning just once, which isn't surprising when he allowed at least 5 runs in each start. In 16 fewer innings than Baker, he allowed the same number of hits because of the ridiculous .471 batting average opponents had against him. He also gave up as many home runs (8) as he had strikeouts.
Record: 14-14
Best record at any point (games above .500): 66-65
Worst record at any point (games below .500): 56-62
Days in first (and biggest lead): 0 (2.5 GB)
Days in last (and furthest out of first): 0 (6.5 GB)
Longest win streak: 5 games
Longest losing streak: 3 games
Runs scored/runs against: 148/151
Most runs scored/most runs allowed: 11/14
Shutouts/times shut out: 2/1
Extra inning games: 1
Longest game: 10 innings
Hitter of the month: Joe Mauer (115 AB, 21 R, 8 HR, 23 RBI, 12 BB:9 K, 3 SB, .391/.449/.652)
It was another spectacular month in a monumental season for Joe Mauer. If not for a sub-par final week, this may have looked very similar to his performance in May when he hit over .400 and got on base half the time. In August, though, he threw in an added bonus of a few stolen bases to make his skill-set complete.
Bizarro World hitter of the month: Nick Punto (51 AB, 6 R, 0 HR, 5 RBI, 6 BB:16 K, 1 SB, .235/.310/.294)
For the fifth time in as many months, a middle infielder lands in this spot, and Punto receives it for the second time this year. Despite finally finding the bench towards the end of August, he did enough damage in his playing time to warrant this. He struck out in almost 1/3 of his at bats and yet again had a slugging percentage under .300, something he's avoided in only one month this season.
Pitcher of the month: Scott Baker (4-0, 39.2 IP, 33 H, 5 BB, 29 K, 3.18/0.96)
Baker continues to pitch well after a stint on the disabled list to start the season and a rough few weeks after that. In August he had his lowest ERA of any month and allowed opponents to bat just .220. In four of his six August starts he pitched at least seven innings, and in six of his last nine starts he's allowed 2 runs or fewer. Jose Mijares was the best reliever for the Twins in August.
Bizarro World pitcher of the month: Anthony Swarzak (0-4, 13.1 IP, 33 H, 3 BB, 8 K, 14.85/2.70)
He's back in Rochester now, but Swarzak made four starts for the Twins in August. He lost each of those four starts, lasting until the fifth inning just once, which isn't surprising when he allowed at least 5 runs in each start. In 16 fewer innings than Baker, he allowed the same number of hits because of the ridiculous .471 batting average opponents had against him. He also gave up as many home runs (8) as he had strikeouts.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Minor League Players of the Month: July
Rochester (AAA):
Juan Morillo: 11 G, 15.3 IP, 21 K, 9 BB, 4.11 ERA, 1.63 WHIP, 3.40 FIP, 56.8 GB%
Morillo has won this award for three months running now. He continues to rack up the strikeouts, but as was the case last month, his win is more a reflection of the unimpressive pitching performances put together by the Rochester pitching staff.
Justin Huber: .286/.381/.536, 9 2B, 0 3B, 4 HR, 1/1 SB, 11 BB, 24 K in 97 PA
Huber improved upon all three components of his slash line compared to June, when he was also Rochester's top hitter. Huber has struggled in his limited major league opportunities, but he is ready should the Twins ever need a right-handed first baseman.
New Britain:
Ryan Mullins: 4 G, 23.3 IP, 25 K, 3 BB, 3.47 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 1.91 FIP, 45.2 GB%
Mullins cut down on his walks in July which allowed him to win his first pitcher of the month award. The lefty again struck out around 1 batter per inning and he leads the Eastern League with 100 strikeouts on the season.
Erik Lis: .305/.377/.552, 5 2B, 0 3B, 7 HR, 1/1 SB, 12 BB, 20 K in 122 PA
Lis was clearly the best hitter for the Rock Cats in July. He hit more home runs (7) in July than he did in the first three months of the season combined (6), including 4 homers in 4 games in a series against the Binghamton Mets.
Fort Myers:
Michael McCardell: 3 G, 21 IP, 21 K, 1 BB, 2.57 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 1.68 FIP, 42.6 GB%
McCardell was promoted to New Britain mid-month, but his three 7 inning starts for the Miracle were so good that he was still the best pitcher for Fort Myers. He continued his strong performance, minus a misleading ERA, after his promotion to New Britain, but was placed on the DL near the end of the month.
Joe Benson: .277/.434/.369, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 4/8 SB, 16 BB, 15 K in 85 PA
After missing almost two months with an injury, Benson came back on July 5th and continued his best season by far as a pro. He has posted an OPS over .800 in every month and shown much improved plate discipline, including walking in 18.8% of his plate appearances in July.
Beloit:
Andrew Thompson: .333/.403/.449, 3 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 3/3 SB, 8 BB, 10 K in 78 PA
Thompson had a great month in July and as a middle infielder could have an impact in a system lacking at that position. However, at 22 he's not young for the league and has been pretty unimpressive overall, though his BB:K ratio has been solid all season long.
Liam Hendriks: 4 G, 24.3 IP, 23 K, 4 BB, 3.33 ERA, 1.56 WHIP, 2.71 FIP, 57.0 GB%
The 20 year old Hendriks has been impressive in his first taste of full season ball, with a lot of groundballs and just around 1 strikeout per inning.
Elizabethton:
Josmil Pinto: .368/.414/.671, 7 2B, 2 3B, 4 HR, 0/0 SB, 7 BB, 12 K in 87 PA
Pinto had the highest OPS (1.085) in July of any hitter in the Twins' system. He benefited from a high BABIP, but still had 13 extra base hits and a .303 ISO.
Tom Stuifbergen: 5 G, 30.7 IP, 24 K, 4 BB, 3.52 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 2.55 FIP, 69.0 GB%
Kyle Carr also had a great month before being promoted, but Stuifbergen had a much greater impact with almost twice as many innings pitched. He didn't have the best strikeout rate (7.04 K/9), but he didn't walk many (1.17 BB/9) and induced ground balls at almost a 70% clip.
GCL:
Andrei Lobanov: 8 G, 13 IP, 19 K, 0 BB, 1.38 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, 1.69 FIP, 71.9 GB%
The numbers say it all for Lobanov. He had about the best month possible for a pitcher: lots of strikeouts and groundballs with literally no walks.
Wang-Wei Lin: .333/.455/.556, 2 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 0/0 SB, 2 BB, 1 K in 11 PA
The GCL Twins struggled offensively this month, so I had no choice but to give the award to Lin despite his 11 plate appearances. No other hitter even had an OPS of .700 in the month of July.
Juan Morillo: 11 G, 15.3 IP, 21 K, 9 BB, 4.11 ERA, 1.63 WHIP, 3.40 FIP, 56.8 GB%
Morillo has won this award for three months running now. He continues to rack up the strikeouts, but as was the case last month, his win is more a reflection of the unimpressive pitching performances put together by the Rochester pitching staff.
Justin Huber: .286/.381/.536, 9 2B, 0 3B, 4 HR, 1/1 SB, 11 BB, 24 K in 97 PA
Huber improved upon all three components of his slash line compared to June, when he was also Rochester's top hitter. Huber has struggled in his limited major league opportunities, but he is ready should the Twins ever need a right-handed first baseman.
New Britain:
Ryan Mullins: 4 G, 23.3 IP, 25 K, 3 BB, 3.47 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 1.91 FIP, 45.2 GB%
Mullins cut down on his walks in July which allowed him to win his first pitcher of the month award. The lefty again struck out around 1 batter per inning and he leads the Eastern League with 100 strikeouts on the season.
Erik Lis: .305/.377/.552, 5 2B, 0 3B, 7 HR, 1/1 SB, 12 BB, 20 K in 122 PA
Lis was clearly the best hitter for the Rock Cats in July. He hit more home runs (7) in July than he did in the first three months of the season combined (6), including 4 homers in 4 games in a series against the Binghamton Mets.
Fort Myers:
Michael McCardell: 3 G, 21 IP, 21 K, 1 BB, 2.57 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 1.68 FIP, 42.6 GB%
McCardell was promoted to New Britain mid-month, but his three 7 inning starts for the Miracle were so good that he was still the best pitcher for Fort Myers. He continued his strong performance, minus a misleading ERA, after his promotion to New Britain, but was placed on the DL near the end of the month.
Joe Benson: .277/.434/.369, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 4/8 SB, 16 BB, 15 K in 85 PA
After missing almost two months with an injury, Benson came back on July 5th and continued his best season by far as a pro. He has posted an OPS over .800 in every month and shown much improved plate discipline, including walking in 18.8% of his plate appearances in July.
Beloit:
Andrew Thompson: .333/.403/.449, 3 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 3/3 SB, 8 BB, 10 K in 78 PA
Thompson had a great month in July and as a middle infielder could have an impact in a system lacking at that position. However, at 22 he's not young for the league and has been pretty unimpressive overall, though his BB:K ratio has been solid all season long.
Liam Hendriks: 4 G, 24.3 IP, 23 K, 4 BB, 3.33 ERA, 1.56 WHIP, 2.71 FIP, 57.0 GB%
The 20 year old Hendriks has been impressive in his first taste of full season ball, with a lot of groundballs and just around 1 strikeout per inning.
Elizabethton:
Josmil Pinto: .368/.414/.671, 7 2B, 2 3B, 4 HR, 0/0 SB, 7 BB, 12 K in 87 PA
Pinto had the highest OPS (1.085) in July of any hitter in the Twins' system. He benefited from a high BABIP, but still had 13 extra base hits and a .303 ISO.
Tom Stuifbergen: 5 G, 30.7 IP, 24 K, 4 BB, 3.52 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 2.55 FIP, 69.0 GB%
Kyle Carr also had a great month before being promoted, but Stuifbergen had a much greater impact with almost twice as many innings pitched. He didn't have the best strikeout rate (7.04 K/9), but he didn't walk many (1.17 BB/9) and induced ground balls at almost a 70% clip.
GCL:
Andrei Lobanov: 8 G, 13 IP, 19 K, 0 BB, 1.38 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, 1.69 FIP, 71.9 GB%
The numbers say it all for Lobanov. He had about the best month possible for a pitcher: lots of strikeouts and groundballs with literally no walks.
Wang-Wei Lin: .333/.455/.556, 2 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 0/0 SB, 2 BB, 1 K in 11 PA
The GCL Twins struggled offensively this month, so I had no choice but to give the award to Lin despite his 11 plate appearances. No other hitter even had an OPS of .700 in the month of July.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
July in Review
The Twins played their fifth extra inning game of their July schedule last night, and it ended in a disappointing manner. Despite leading 5-2, the Twins lost to the Angels 11-5 in 11 innings. Bobby Keppel and Jesse Crain were the bullpen culprits, combining to allow the first 8 batters to reach in the final inning. It was an ugly loss, so let's hope the Twins can start August on a better foot.
Record: 12-12
Best record at any point (games above .500): 47-44
Worst record at any point (games below .500): 48-50
Days in first (and biggest lead): 0 (2.0 GB)
Days in last (and furthest out of first): 0 (5.0 GB)
Longest win streak: 4 games
Longest losing streak: 4 games
Runs scored/runs against: 128/140
Most runs scored/most runs allowed: 13/16
Shutouts/times shut out: 0/0
Extra inning games: 5
Longest game: 16 innings
Hitter of the month: Justin Morneau (93 AB, 16 R, 7 HR, 19 RBI, 15 BB:19 K, .280/.380/.559)
Despite hitting worse than he has for the year as a whole, Morneau finally managed to earn hitter of the month honors in 2009. Yet again it was a close contest between he and Jason Kubel, but Morneau's extra playing time was what pushed me in his favor. In the month, Morneau had two 2-homer games and set a career high with 7 RBIs in one game. He didn't end the month well, though, going 0 for his last 12 and striking out 5 times.
Bizarro World hitter of the month: Brendan Harris (75 AB, 8 R, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 3 BB:17 K, .187/.218/.307)
The whole middle infield was pretty awful this July (as with the entire year), so I could have chosen Nick Punto or Alexi Casilla pretty easily. Punto, though, had slightly better numbers than Harris, and Casilla's 7-to-6 strikeout-to-walk ratio and 5 stolen bases, combined with his less time in the lineup, made Harris the choice. While many people, myself included, aren't sure how much of an upgrade Orlando Cabrera will be, it's pretty clear from looking at their July stats that a move of some kind was necessary.
Pitcher of the month: Matt Guerrier (2-0, 16.1 IP, 8 H, 0 BB, 9 K, 0.49/0.55)
Guerrier was magnificent this month, and only in his final outing did he allow a run--unfortunately it was a game-tying homer from Mike Napoli. But enough with the negative, as Guerrier allowed less than a baserunner every other inning. It's all part of an excellent year for Guerrier, who's quietly accumulated an ERA of 2.09 and a WHIP of 0.79. Jose Mijares and Joe Nathan, who combine with Guerrier to be the only legitimate relief options, also had very good months.
Bizarro World pitcher of the month: R.A. Dickey (0-1, 17 IP, 28 H, 9 BB, 9 K, 7.94/2.18)
While the few good relievers the Twins have were pitching very well, the rest of the bullpen was lobbing batting practice to opposing hitters. Dickey, Jesse Crain, Bobby Keppel, Kevin Mulvey, and Brian Duensing combined to throw 57 innings and give up 76 hits and 44 runs, while also walking 29 batters, the same number they struck out. Dickey was the worst of the bunch, allowing more than 2 baserunners per inning and giving up more than 3 runs on four different occasions.
Record: 12-12
Best record at any point (games above .500): 47-44
Worst record at any point (games below .500): 48-50
Days in first (and biggest lead): 0 (2.0 GB)
Days in last (and furthest out of first): 0 (5.0 GB)
Longest win streak: 4 games
Longest losing streak: 4 games
Runs scored/runs against: 128/140
Most runs scored/most runs allowed: 13/16
Shutouts/times shut out: 0/0
Extra inning games: 5
Longest game: 16 innings
Hitter of the month: Justin Morneau (93 AB, 16 R, 7 HR, 19 RBI, 15 BB:19 K, .280/.380/.559)
Despite hitting worse than he has for the year as a whole, Morneau finally managed to earn hitter of the month honors in 2009. Yet again it was a close contest between he and Jason Kubel, but Morneau's extra playing time was what pushed me in his favor. In the month, Morneau had two 2-homer games and set a career high with 7 RBIs in one game. He didn't end the month well, though, going 0 for his last 12 and striking out 5 times.
Bizarro World hitter of the month: Brendan Harris (75 AB, 8 R, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 3 BB:17 K, .187/.218/.307)
The whole middle infield was pretty awful this July (as with the entire year), so I could have chosen Nick Punto or Alexi Casilla pretty easily. Punto, though, had slightly better numbers than Harris, and Casilla's 7-to-6 strikeout-to-walk ratio and 5 stolen bases, combined with his less time in the lineup, made Harris the choice. While many people, myself included, aren't sure how much of an upgrade Orlando Cabrera will be, it's pretty clear from looking at their July stats that a move of some kind was necessary.
Pitcher of the month: Matt Guerrier (2-0, 16.1 IP, 8 H, 0 BB, 9 K, 0.49/0.55)
Guerrier was magnificent this month, and only in his final outing did he allow a run--unfortunately it was a game-tying homer from Mike Napoli. But enough with the negative, as Guerrier allowed less than a baserunner every other inning. It's all part of an excellent year for Guerrier, who's quietly accumulated an ERA of 2.09 and a WHIP of 0.79. Jose Mijares and Joe Nathan, who combine with Guerrier to be the only legitimate relief options, also had very good months.
Bizarro World pitcher of the month: R.A. Dickey (0-1, 17 IP, 28 H, 9 BB, 9 K, 7.94/2.18)
While the few good relievers the Twins have were pitching very well, the rest of the bullpen was lobbing batting practice to opposing hitters. Dickey, Jesse Crain, Bobby Keppel, Kevin Mulvey, and Brian Duensing combined to throw 57 innings and give up 76 hits and 44 runs, while also walking 29 batters, the same number they struck out. Dickey was the worst of the bunch, allowing more than 2 baserunners per inning and giving up more than 3 runs on four different occasions.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Minor League Review: June
Rochester Red Wings (AAA):
Hitter of the Month: Justin Huber, 1B
.264/.333/.500, 4 2B, 0 3B, 7 HR, 1/2 SB, 11 BB, 19 K in 120 PA
The former top catching prospect pounded International League pitching in the month of June to the tune of a .236 ISO. He turned 27 last week and doesn't figure to have much of a future at the major league level with Justin Morneau manning first base for the Twins, but he has consistently put up good numbers at AAA over the years.
Pitcher of the Month: Juan Morillo, RHP
10 G, 13 IP, 20 K, 10 BB, 4.15 ERA, 1.46 WHIP, 2.59 FIP, 39.3 GB%
Morillo's line basically sums up the Red Wings pitching woes during the month of June, as he managed to win pitcher of the month honors for the 2nd straight month despite a decidedly average ERA and WHIP. His strikeout rate, 13.85 K/9 in June, along with his 95+ MPH fastball, remain his two great attributes.
New Britain Rock Cats (AA):
Hitter of the Month: Rene Tosoni, OF
.304/.439/.494, 7 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 2/5 SB, 15 BB, 13 K in 99 PA
Tosoni followed up his .971 OPS in May with a .933 OPS in June. He also sliced his strikeout rate almost in half from the first two months of the season, and walked more than he struck out in June. With the Red Wings featuring only three outfielders on their roster, Tosoni could see a promotion sooner rather than later.
Pitcher of the Month: Yohan Pino, RHP
8 G, 13 IP, 10 K, 2 BB, 0.00 ERA, 0.31 WHIP, 2.39 FIP, 46.4 GB%
At 23 years old, Pino is putting himself firmly on the prospect map with over 1 strikeout per inning out of the bullpen for New Britain this season. In June, Pino did not allow any runs while limiting opponents to 4 baserunners in 13 innings.
Fort Myers Miracle (A+):
Hitter of the Month: Chris Parmelee, OF
.297/.391/.554, 7 2B, 0 3B, 4 HR, 0/0 SB, 11 BB, 17 K in 87 PA
The Twins' 2006 first round draft pick has always shown impressive power and posted a good walk rate, but with his low average, high strikeout rate, and lack of speed he has been the opposite of the typical Twins' prospect. That, of course, is not a bad thing. At 21 years old in his first season at high-A ball, Parmelee has posted a .190 ISO and .359 WOBA, without any help from a near career low .311 BABIP.
Pitcher of the Month: Henry Arias, RHP
8 G, 16 IP, 14 K, 4 BB, 3.38 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 3.32 FIP, 47.7 GB%
In his first season with the Twins' organization, Arias has produced an underwhelming overall line for the season. The 24 year old had an outstanding month of June, though, as his line above demonstrates. Arias has also shown improved control this year, with a K:BB over 2 for the first time in his career.
Beloit Snappers (A):
Hitter of the Month: Ozzie Lewis, OF
.319/.329/.500, 4 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 0/1 SB, 2 BB, 15 K in 76 PA
As you can tell from the fact that I chose a hitter with 2 walks all month, there weren't any really impressive among performances among the Beloit hitters in June. Lewis showed some power in June, with a .181 ISO, and that was enough for him to take top honors in June.
Pitcher of the Month: Daniel Osterbrock, LHP
5 G, 27.7 IP, 23 K, 2 BB, 2.28 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 2.97 FIP, 47.4 GB%
This was a much tougher choice than the hitter, as the entire Beloit starting rotation had an impressive month, with Osterbrock, Bobby Lanigan, Brad Tippett, and Michael Tarsi combining for 91 strikeouts and 17 walks in 104 innings. Osterbrock was the best of the bunch, though, as he began to show the same kind of complete domincance that he displayed in rookie league last season.
Hitter of the Month: Justin Huber, 1B
.264/.333/.500, 4 2B, 0 3B, 7 HR, 1/2 SB, 11 BB, 19 K in 120 PA
The former top catching prospect pounded International League pitching in the month of June to the tune of a .236 ISO. He turned 27 last week and doesn't figure to have much of a future at the major league level with Justin Morneau manning first base for the Twins, but he has consistently put up good numbers at AAA over the years.
Pitcher of the Month: Juan Morillo, RHP
10 G, 13 IP, 20 K, 10 BB, 4.15 ERA, 1.46 WHIP, 2.59 FIP, 39.3 GB%
Morillo's line basically sums up the Red Wings pitching woes during the month of June, as he managed to win pitcher of the month honors for the 2nd straight month despite a decidedly average ERA and WHIP. His strikeout rate, 13.85 K/9 in June, along with his 95+ MPH fastball, remain his two great attributes.
New Britain Rock Cats (AA):
Hitter of the Month: Rene Tosoni, OF
.304/.439/.494, 7 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 2/5 SB, 15 BB, 13 K in 99 PA
Tosoni followed up his .971 OPS in May with a .933 OPS in June. He also sliced his strikeout rate almost in half from the first two months of the season, and walked more than he struck out in June. With the Red Wings featuring only three outfielders on their roster, Tosoni could see a promotion sooner rather than later.
Pitcher of the Month: Yohan Pino, RHP
8 G, 13 IP, 10 K, 2 BB, 0.00 ERA, 0.31 WHIP, 2.39 FIP, 46.4 GB%
At 23 years old, Pino is putting himself firmly on the prospect map with over 1 strikeout per inning out of the bullpen for New Britain this season. In June, Pino did not allow any runs while limiting opponents to 4 baserunners in 13 innings.
Fort Myers Miracle (A+):
Hitter of the Month: Chris Parmelee, OF
.297/.391/.554, 7 2B, 0 3B, 4 HR, 0/0 SB, 11 BB, 17 K in 87 PA
The Twins' 2006 first round draft pick has always shown impressive power and posted a good walk rate, but with his low average, high strikeout rate, and lack of speed he has been the opposite of the typical Twins' prospect. That, of course, is not a bad thing. At 21 years old in his first season at high-A ball, Parmelee has posted a .190 ISO and .359 WOBA, without any help from a near career low .311 BABIP.
Pitcher of the Month: Henry Arias, RHP
8 G, 16 IP, 14 K, 4 BB, 3.38 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 3.32 FIP, 47.7 GB%
In his first season with the Twins' organization, Arias has produced an underwhelming overall line for the season. The 24 year old had an outstanding month of June, though, as his line above demonstrates. Arias has also shown improved control this year, with a K:BB over 2 for the first time in his career.
Beloit Snappers (A):
Hitter of the Month: Ozzie Lewis, OF
.319/.329/.500, 4 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 0/1 SB, 2 BB, 15 K in 76 PA
As you can tell from the fact that I chose a hitter with 2 walks all month, there weren't any really impressive among performances among the Beloit hitters in June. Lewis showed some power in June, with a .181 ISO, and that was enough for him to take top honors in June.
Pitcher of the Month: Daniel Osterbrock, LHP
5 G, 27.7 IP, 23 K, 2 BB, 2.28 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 2.97 FIP, 47.4 GB%
This was a much tougher choice than the hitter, as the entire Beloit starting rotation had an impressive month, with Osterbrock, Bobby Lanigan, Brad Tippett, and Michael Tarsi combining for 91 strikeouts and 17 walks in 104 innings. Osterbrock was the best of the bunch, though, as he began to show the same kind of complete domincance that he displayed in rookie league last season.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
June Review
The Twins spent just about the entire month of June in 2nd place in the AL Central, having moved into that spot on June 2nd, and vacating it by percentage points after yesterday's win.
Record: 15-12
Best record at any point (games above .500): 40-39
Worst record at any point (games below .500): 28-31
Days in first (and biggest lead): 0 (1.5 GB)
Days in last (and furthest out of first): 0 (5.0 GB)
Longest win streak: 2 games
Longest losing streak: 3 games
Runs scored/runs against: 112/93
Most runs scored/most runs allowed: 11/10
Shutouts/times shut out: 1/0
Extra inning games: 1
Longest game: 10 innings
Hitter of the month: Jason Kubel (86 AB, 12 R, 8 HR, 17 RBI, 0 SB, .291/.371/.628)
Kubel again takes the cake after earning the same honor in April. As you'll see with the pitchers, a lot of them had good months, but the opposite was true for the hitters. That's not to say that they were abysmal, but most of them were not at their best in June. Kubel, however, mashed 8 of his 13 homers on the season this month, and despite having his worst month for batting average, had his highest monthly OPS by almost 100 points (.999)
Bizarro World hitter of the month: Matt Tolbert (45 AB, 5 R, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 2 SB, .178/.288/.200)
I know, I know--that's actually a pretty good month for Tolbert at the plate. Kidding aside, his season slash stats are .185/.274/.235 so he really wasn't far off his normal performance. His 90 tOPS+ supports this.* Still, when the guy's normal performance is that bad, he's going to find himself in this area a lot. He did pick up 2 steals and had an equal K:BB ratio (7-to-7), but he had only extra base hit (a double) and had an OPS barely higher than Joe Mauer's current on-base-percentage.
Pitcher of the month: Joe Nathan (11 SV, 11.2 IP, 4 H, 1 BB, 18 K, 0.00/0.43)
I'd like to give it someone other than Nathan, but he was just too good this month. 13.89 K/9, 18.0 K/BB, 3.09 H/9? That's just too good. I gave him the award for May, too, and pointed out that without one bad outing he was incredible, and was still very good with it. Well, this time there's no need to subtract a bad outing. I considered Scott Baker and Nick Blackburn as starters, but Blackburn's puny 2.84 K/9 mark was too much to ignore and Baker's 3.20 ERA was too high.
Three more up
Scott Baker: 4-0, 39.1 IP, 30 H, 8 BB, 35 K, 3.20/0.97
Nick Blackburn: 1-2, 38 IP, 39 H, 7 BB, 12 K, 2.37/1.21
R.A. Dickey: 0-0, 13.2 IP, 8 H, 3 BB, 12 K, 0.66/0.80
Bizarro World pitcher of the month: Sean Henn (0-3, 6.1 IP, 6 H, 6 BB, 8 K, 9.95/1.89)
There weren't a lot of choices for this, as everyone performed at least fairly well, or I wouldn't have picked a guy who threw under 7 innings. The other options were Anthony Swarzak, who had significantly better stats and only 8 more innings, and Kevin Slowey. Slowey's stats were also significantly better than Henn's, though certainly not good by any means. Anyways, I also don't like Henn because it was stupid to call him up and get rid of Breslow originally since his track record shows he is not a good Major League pitcher. So what if it wasn't his decision to get called up? I don't like him.
*Yes, I just really wanted to use that stat. It's OPS+ for the split (in this case June) compared to a guy's total OPS+. So 100 means he's the same as he usually is, less than 100 means worse, and more than 100 means better.
Record: 15-12
Best record at any point (games above .500): 40-39
Worst record at any point (games below .500): 28-31
Days in first (and biggest lead): 0 (1.5 GB)
Days in last (and furthest out of first): 0 (5.0 GB)
Longest win streak: 2 games
Longest losing streak: 3 games
Runs scored/runs against: 112/93
Most runs scored/most runs allowed: 11/10
Shutouts/times shut out: 1/0
Extra inning games: 1
Longest game: 10 innings
Hitter of the month: Jason Kubel (86 AB, 12 R, 8 HR, 17 RBI, 0 SB, .291/.371/.628)
Kubel again takes the cake after earning the same honor in April. As you'll see with the pitchers, a lot of them had good months, but the opposite was true for the hitters. That's not to say that they were abysmal, but most of them were not at their best in June. Kubel, however, mashed 8 of his 13 homers on the season this month, and despite having his worst month for batting average, had his highest monthly OPS by almost 100 points (.999)
Bizarro World hitter of the month: Matt Tolbert (45 AB, 5 R, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 2 SB, .178/.288/.200)
I know, I know--that's actually a pretty good month for Tolbert at the plate. Kidding aside, his season slash stats are .185/.274/.235 so he really wasn't far off his normal performance. His 90 tOPS+ supports this.* Still, when the guy's normal performance is that bad, he's going to find himself in this area a lot. He did pick up 2 steals and had an equal K:BB ratio (7-to-7), but he had only extra base hit (a double) and had an OPS barely higher than Joe Mauer's current on-base-percentage.
Pitcher of the month: Joe Nathan (11 SV, 11.2 IP, 4 H, 1 BB, 18 K, 0.00/0.43)
I'd like to give it someone other than Nathan, but he was just too good this month. 13.89 K/9, 18.0 K/BB, 3.09 H/9? That's just too good. I gave him the award for May, too, and pointed out that without one bad outing he was incredible, and was still very good with it. Well, this time there's no need to subtract a bad outing. I considered Scott Baker and Nick Blackburn as starters, but Blackburn's puny 2.84 K/9 mark was too much to ignore and Baker's 3.20 ERA was too high.
Three more up
Scott Baker: 4-0, 39.1 IP, 30 H, 8 BB, 35 K, 3.20/0.97
Nick Blackburn: 1-2, 38 IP, 39 H, 7 BB, 12 K, 2.37/1.21
R.A. Dickey: 0-0, 13.2 IP, 8 H, 3 BB, 12 K, 0.66/0.80
Bizarro World pitcher of the month: Sean Henn (0-3, 6.1 IP, 6 H, 6 BB, 8 K, 9.95/1.89)
There weren't a lot of choices for this, as everyone performed at least fairly well, or I wouldn't have picked a guy who threw under 7 innings. The other options were Anthony Swarzak, who had significantly better stats and only 8 more innings, and Kevin Slowey. Slowey's stats were also significantly better than Henn's, though certainly not good by any means. Anyways, I also don't like Henn because it was stupid to call him up and get rid of Breslow originally since his track record shows he is not a good Major League pitcher. So what if it wasn't his decision to get called up? I don't like him.
*Yes, I just really wanted to use that stat. It's OPS+ for the split (in this case June) compared to a guy's total OPS+. So 100 means he's the same as he usually is, less than 100 means worse, and more than 100 means better.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
May in Review: Minor Leagues
Rochester Red Wings (AAA)
Record: 17-14
Runs Scored/Runs Against: 138/135
Hitter of the Month: Luke Hughes, 3B
90 PA, 5 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 1/1 SB, 10 BB, 19 K, .273/.356/.481/.837
The question with Hughes has always been his defense, as he has done nothing but hit for the past couple seasons. This month was not really anything special for Hughes, but it was still enough for him to be Rochester's top hitter for the month. He still strikes out a lot, but continued his improved plate discipline this season by posting a walk rate over 11% for the 2nd straight month.
Pitcher of the Month: Juan Morillo, RHP
11 G, 17 IP, 21 K, 10 BB, 10 H, 5 ER, GB%: 30
Morillo was sent down after a brief walk-filled stint with the Twins, and he pitched well enough to be the Red Wings pitcher of the month for May. He still walks too many hitters, but they did not come back to hurt him as much this month as he allowed hitters to hit only .175 as well as continuing to post an amazing strikeout rate.
New Britain Rock Cats (AA)
Record: 17-13
Runs Scored/Runs Against: 165/161
Hitter of the Month: Whitney Robbins, 1B
109 PA, 6 2B, 0 3B, 5 HR, 0/0 SB, 15 BB, 15 K, .370/.450/.598/1.048
Robbins's great month was just enough to prevent Danny Valencia from winning this award for the 2nd month in a row. Robbins has always been a patient hitter, and this month he showed a lot of the power that we saw in his minor league debut back in 2006. He now has a nearly .200 ISO on the season along with a .405 wOBA.
Pitcher of the Month: Rob Delaney, RHP
15 G, 21.2 IP, 20 K, 5 BB, 19 H, 4 ER, GB%: 56
I've talked about Delaney a number of times here, and basically his call up to AAA is way overdue. His great numbers this month were actually worse than what he did in April.
Fort Myers Miracle (A+)
Record: 20-8
Runs Scored/Runs Against: 134/102
Hitter of the Month: Ben Revere, CF
105 PA, 4 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 10/15 SB, 6 BB, 10 K, .388/.430/.449/.879
Revere had a great month in May, though it was even more batting average dependent than usual for him. Luckily for him, he has shown the consistent ability in the minors to hit for a high average, but hopefully this month's decreases in walk rate and ISO were simply blips on the radar rather than true changes in his ability.
Pitcher of the Month: David Bromberg, RHP
6 G, 31 IP, 27 K, 14 BB, 19 H, 5 ER, GB%: 54
This was a tough choice, as Blair Erickson and Spencer Steedley both had great months out of the bullpen, but they pitched only 12 innings each. Therefore, the Miracle pitcher of the month award goes to Bromberg, who was one of the leaders of a pitching staff that allowed only 3.6 runs per game in May. He closed out the month with 12 strikeouts in 6 innings in his last start, and had an earlier start where he allowed only 1 hit in 7.2 innings.
Beloit Snappers (A)
Record: 11-19
Runs Scored/Runs Against: 147/173
Hitter of the Month: Nathan Hanson, 3B
96 PA, 6 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 2/2 SB, 8 BB, 16 K, .291/.365/.477/.842
It was a bad month for the Snappers, as they were the only Twins' affiliate to be outscored or under .500, and it wasn't close in either case. Nonetheless, it was not a bad month for the 22 year old former Golden Gopher. He posted a .186 ISO in May after having only 2 extra base hits (both doubles) and an .044 ISO in April.
Pitcher of the Month: Brad Tippett, RHP
6 G, 35 IP, 28 K, 6 BB, 30 H, 9 ER, GB%: 51
Another Australian signing for the Twins, Tippett was one of the few bright spots for the Snappers in May. Tippett showed great control, walking only 1.54 per 9 innings, and induced more ground balls than in the past. His 2.31 ERA led the Snappers' rotation in May, as the staff as a whole allowed almost 6 runs per game.
Record: 17-14
Runs Scored/Runs Against: 138/135
Hitter of the Month: Luke Hughes, 3B
90 PA, 5 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 1/1 SB, 10 BB, 19 K, .273/.356/.481/.837
The question with Hughes has always been his defense, as he has done nothing but hit for the past couple seasons. This month was not really anything special for Hughes, but it was still enough for him to be Rochester's top hitter for the month. He still strikes out a lot, but continued his improved plate discipline this season by posting a walk rate over 11% for the 2nd straight month.
Pitcher of the Month: Juan Morillo, RHP
11 G, 17 IP, 21 K, 10 BB, 10 H, 5 ER, GB%: 30
Morillo was sent down after a brief walk-filled stint with the Twins, and he pitched well enough to be the Red Wings pitcher of the month for May. He still walks too many hitters, but they did not come back to hurt him as much this month as he allowed hitters to hit only .175 as well as continuing to post an amazing strikeout rate.
New Britain Rock Cats (AA)
Record: 17-13
Runs Scored/Runs Against: 165/161
Hitter of the Month: Whitney Robbins, 1B
109 PA, 6 2B, 0 3B, 5 HR, 0/0 SB, 15 BB, 15 K, .370/.450/.598/1.048
Robbins's great month was just enough to prevent Danny Valencia from winning this award for the 2nd month in a row. Robbins has always been a patient hitter, and this month he showed a lot of the power that we saw in his minor league debut back in 2006. He now has a nearly .200 ISO on the season along with a .405 wOBA.
Pitcher of the Month: Rob Delaney, RHP
15 G, 21.2 IP, 20 K, 5 BB, 19 H, 4 ER, GB%: 56
I've talked about Delaney a number of times here, and basically his call up to AAA is way overdue. His great numbers this month were actually worse than what he did in April.
Fort Myers Miracle (A+)
Record: 20-8
Runs Scored/Runs Against: 134/102
Hitter of the Month: Ben Revere, CF
105 PA, 4 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 10/15 SB, 6 BB, 10 K, .388/.430/.449/.879
Revere had a great month in May, though it was even more batting average dependent than usual for him. Luckily for him, he has shown the consistent ability in the minors to hit for a high average, but hopefully this month's decreases in walk rate and ISO were simply blips on the radar rather than true changes in his ability.
Pitcher of the Month: David Bromberg, RHP
6 G, 31 IP, 27 K, 14 BB, 19 H, 5 ER, GB%: 54
This was a tough choice, as Blair Erickson and Spencer Steedley both had great months out of the bullpen, but they pitched only 12 innings each. Therefore, the Miracle pitcher of the month award goes to Bromberg, who was one of the leaders of a pitching staff that allowed only 3.6 runs per game in May. He closed out the month with 12 strikeouts in 6 innings in his last start, and had an earlier start where he allowed only 1 hit in 7.2 innings.
Beloit Snappers (A)
Record: 11-19
Runs Scored/Runs Against: 147/173
Hitter of the Month: Nathan Hanson, 3B
96 PA, 6 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 2/2 SB, 8 BB, 16 K, .291/.365/.477/.842
It was a bad month for the Snappers, as they were the only Twins' affiliate to be outscored or under .500, and it wasn't close in either case. Nonetheless, it was not a bad month for the 22 year old former Golden Gopher. He posted a .186 ISO in May after having only 2 extra base hits (both doubles) and an .044 ISO in April.
Pitcher of the Month: Brad Tippett, RHP
6 G, 35 IP, 28 K, 6 BB, 30 H, 9 ER, GB%: 51
Another Australian signing for the Twins, Tippett was one of the few bright spots for the Snappers in May. Tippett showed great control, walking only 1.54 per 9 innings, and induced more ground balls than in the past. His 2.31 ERA led the Snappers' rotation in May, as the staff as a whole allowed almost 6 runs per game.
Monday, June 1, 2009
The Month of May
[There will be no Hot-Cold feature this week since Monday coincides with the end of the month.]
Despite Joe Mauer's return and sizzling performance, the Twins were under .500 in the month of May. Let's run down exactly how they did.
Record: 14-16
Best record at any point (games above .500): 18-17
Worst record at any point (games below .500): 18-23
Days in first (and biggest lead): 1 (tied)
Days in last (and furthest out of first): 0 (5.5 games)
Longest win streak: 4
Longest losing streak: 6
Runs scored/runs against: 168/138
Most runs scored/most runs allowed: 20/10
Shutouts/times shut out: 1/1
Extra inning games: 4
Longest game: 13 innings
Hitter of the month: Joe Mauer (99 AB, 27 R, 11 HR, 32 RBI, 0 SB, .414/.500/.838)
What a month it was for Mauer in his return from injury. His OPS for the month was 1.338 and he tied a Twins record with 11 home runs in a month. Mauer's month-long performance was so good that it relegated Justin Morneau's 9 home runs, 29 RBIs, and .713 slugging percentage to an afterthought. All in all, it was far more than any of us could have expected when Mauer returned on May 1st.
Three more up
Justin Morneau (108 AB, 24 R, 9 HR, 29 RBI, 0 SB, .361/.459/.713)
Michael Cuddyer (109 AB, 23 R, 8 HR, 26 RBI, 2 SB, .312/.395/.651)
Joe Crede (68 AB, 9 R, 6 HR, 16 RBI, 0 SB, .265/.311/.574)
Bizarro World hitter of the month: Nick Punto (66 AB, 10 R, 0 HR, 8 RBI, .152/.244/.182)
When the Twins re-signed Punto in the off-season, reactions were mixed; but even the positive opinions were based on Punto not reverting back to his 2007 version. And so far that's exactly what's happened. Punto has been awful, especially in May, and mercifully he found the disabled list towards the end of the month. This, however, was better than his worst month of 2007: in August of that year, he hit .127/.210/.155 over 71 at bats.
Pitcher of the month: Joe Nathan (12.1 IP, 9 H, 3 BB, 14 K, 2.19/0.97)
Nathan threw only seven innings during April, and was still not used all that much in May. He did, however, up his innings total to 12 1/3, and was as dominating as ever. He blew one save in the month (against the Yankees on May 15th) and that was the 4th consecutive day he had pitched. Without that game, Nathan was filthy: 11.2 IP, 6 H, 1 BB, 13 K, 0.00 ERA! And including that game, he was still very good.
Three more up
Nick Blackburn (38 IP, 38 H, 13 BB, 21 K, 3.08/1.34)
R.A. Dickey (19.1 IP, 17 H, 7 BB, 10 K, 1.86/1.24)
Matt Guerrier (15 IP, 7 H, 4 BB, 12 K, 2.40/0.73)
Bizarro World pitcher of the month: Francisco Liriano (30.1 IP, 39 H, 17 BB, 30 K, 7.12/1.85)
Liriano was utterly hittable and could not control his pitches for the entire month. While he still posted a good strikeout rate (8.9 per 9), he was not effective in the least, throwing only 4 innings in each of his last 3 starts. You can point to some bad luck, as in his last start, where there were 3 infield hits against him in one inning, but Liriano just wasn't good in any aspect this month.
Despite Joe Mauer's return and sizzling performance, the Twins were under .500 in the month of May. Let's run down exactly how they did.
Record: 14-16
Best record at any point (games above .500): 18-17
Worst record at any point (games below .500): 18-23
Days in first (and biggest lead): 1 (tied)
Days in last (and furthest out of first): 0 (5.5 games)
Longest win streak: 4
Longest losing streak: 6
Runs scored/runs against: 168/138
Most runs scored/most runs allowed: 20/10
Shutouts/times shut out: 1/1
Extra inning games: 4
Longest game: 13 innings
Hitter of the month: Joe Mauer (99 AB, 27 R, 11 HR, 32 RBI, 0 SB, .414/.500/.838)
What a month it was for Mauer in his return from injury. His OPS for the month was 1.338 and he tied a Twins record with 11 home runs in a month. Mauer's month-long performance was so good that it relegated Justin Morneau's 9 home runs, 29 RBIs, and .713 slugging percentage to an afterthought. All in all, it was far more than any of us could have expected when Mauer returned on May 1st.
Three more up
Justin Morneau (108 AB, 24 R, 9 HR, 29 RBI, 0 SB, .361/.459/.713)
Michael Cuddyer (109 AB, 23 R, 8 HR, 26 RBI, 2 SB, .312/.395/.651)
Joe Crede (68 AB, 9 R, 6 HR, 16 RBI, 0 SB, .265/.311/.574)
Bizarro World hitter of the month: Nick Punto (66 AB, 10 R, 0 HR, 8 RBI, .152/.244/.182)
When the Twins re-signed Punto in the off-season, reactions were mixed; but even the positive opinions were based on Punto not reverting back to his 2007 version. And so far that's exactly what's happened. Punto has been awful, especially in May, and mercifully he found the disabled list towards the end of the month. This, however, was better than his worst month of 2007: in August of that year, he hit .127/.210/.155 over 71 at bats.
Pitcher of the month: Joe Nathan (12.1 IP, 9 H, 3 BB, 14 K, 2.19/0.97)
Nathan threw only seven innings during April, and was still not used all that much in May. He did, however, up his innings total to 12 1/3, and was as dominating as ever. He blew one save in the month (against the Yankees on May 15th) and that was the 4th consecutive day he had pitched. Without that game, Nathan was filthy: 11.2 IP, 6 H, 1 BB, 13 K, 0.00 ERA! And including that game, he was still very good.
Three more up
Nick Blackburn (38 IP, 38 H, 13 BB, 21 K, 3.08/1.34)
R.A. Dickey (19.1 IP, 17 H, 7 BB, 10 K, 1.86/1.24)
Matt Guerrier (15 IP, 7 H, 4 BB, 12 K, 2.40/0.73)
Bizarro World pitcher of the month: Francisco Liriano (30.1 IP, 39 H, 17 BB, 30 K, 7.12/1.85)
Liriano was utterly hittable and could not control his pitches for the entire month. While he still posted a good strikeout rate (8.9 per 9), he was not effective in the least, throwing only 4 innings in each of his last 3 starts. You can point to some bad luck, as in his last start, where there were 3 infield hits against him in one inning, but Liriano just wasn't good in any aspect this month.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
April in Review
Be sure to scroll down and check out the monthly Minor League summary too!
April 2009 was a month without Joe Mauer, a month in which the pitching struggled to find its way, and a month in which the Twins wholly outperformed their Pythagorean win-loss record. But most importantly, it was the start of a new baseball season! Without further ado, let's run down the statistics from the month.
Record: 11-11
Best record at any point (games above .500): 3-2
Worst record at any point (games below .500): 4-7
Days in first (and biggest lead): 3 (0.5 games)
Days in last (and furthest out of first): 0 (2.5 games)
Longest win streak: 3
Longest losing streak: 3
Runs scored/runs against: 93/116
Most runs scored/most runs allowed: 12/12
Shutouts/times shut out: 0/2
Extra inning games: 1
Longest game: 11 innings
Hitter of the month: Jason Kubel (76 AB, 11 R, 4 HR, 16 RBI, 0 SB, .303)
It was a toss-up between Morneau and Kubel, with Denard Span an easy third. But I decided to reward Kubel because his April showed a bigger improvement over his career performance than Morneau's April, and he is typically a slow starter. Over the last two years, Kubel has hit .261/.288/.348 and .229/.250/.365 through the month of April, compared to his overall line for those two years of .272/.335/.461. Clearly, I don't think he's going to have a similar improvement the rest of the year as compared to his first month, but hopefully he'll be able to finish the year with much better stats because he didn't have a slow start holding him down.
Three more up
Justin Morneau (88 AB, 16 R, 5 HR, 18 RBI, 0 SB, .318)
Denard Span (81 AB, 10 R, 1 HR, 12 RBI, 5 SB, .321)
Brendan Harris (40 AB, 7 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 0 SB, .350)
Bizarro World hitter of the month: Alexi Casilla (69 AB, 6 R, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 2 SB, .174)
With Carlos Gomez, Delmon Young, and Michael Cuddyer's struggles (among others), you wouldn't have thought this decision would have been so easy... but it was. Casilla has been so much worse than any of them, it's just plain shocking. Casilla's OPS thus far is .447. That's almost a full 100 points lower than Gomez's, who has the second-lowest OPS on the team. That's also well over 100 points worse than Kubel's (or Morneau's) slugging percentage! Out of 198 qualified batters, he ranks 193rd in average, 194th in OBP SLG, and 197th in OPS. Now you know why it was an easy decision.
Pitcher of the month: Glen Perkins (29 IP, 2.48, 1.00, 6 BB, 16 K)
While all of the other, more-heralded starters struggled, Perkins put up three consecutive 8-inning outings before getting knocked around a little in his fourth (and most recent) start. All in all, though, Perkins finished the month with the lowest ERA of any of the starters by a full run and a half, and only Jose Mijares and his 3 scoreless innings had a lower ERA among the relievers. He also maintained a WHIP of 1.00 and allowed zero home runs. What is most telling about the pitching this month is that, despite their poor starts, Slowey and Blackburn were both able to rebound and get listed below.
Three more up
Nick Blackburn (31.1 IP, 4.02, 1.37, 7 BB, 12 K)
Joe Nathan (7 IP, 2.57, 1.00, 2 BB, 7 K)
Kevin Slowey (26.1 IP, 4.44, 1.44, 2 BB, 19 K)
Bizarro World pitcher of the month: Scott Baker (14.2 IP, 9.82, 1.70, 4 BB, 12 K)
Baker missed his first start due to an injury, but his return was not as sweet as a Twins fan would have hoped for. He gave up seven home runs total and six runs in each of his two starts, and not coincidentally did not make it out of the fifth inning in either. His last start was decent and most likely indicates those horrible times are behind him, though it wasn't enough to keep him from this unfortunate honor.
April 2009 was a month without Joe Mauer, a month in which the pitching struggled to find its way, and a month in which the Twins wholly outperformed their Pythagorean win-loss record. But most importantly, it was the start of a new baseball season! Without further ado, let's run down the statistics from the month.
Record: 11-11
Best record at any point (games above .500): 3-2
Worst record at any point (games below .500): 4-7
Days in first (and biggest lead): 3 (0.5 games)
Days in last (and furthest out of first): 0 (2.5 games)
Longest win streak: 3
Longest losing streak: 3
Runs scored/runs against: 93/116
Most runs scored/most runs allowed: 12/12
Shutouts/times shut out: 0/2
Extra inning games: 1
Longest game: 11 innings
Hitter of the month: Jason Kubel (76 AB, 11 R, 4 HR, 16 RBI, 0 SB, .303)
It was a toss-up between Morneau and Kubel, with Denard Span an easy third. But I decided to reward Kubel because his April showed a bigger improvement over his career performance than Morneau's April, and he is typically a slow starter. Over the last two years, Kubel has hit .261/.288/.348 and .229/.250/.365 through the month of April, compared to his overall line for those two years of .272/.335/.461. Clearly, I don't think he's going to have a similar improvement the rest of the year as compared to his first month, but hopefully he'll be able to finish the year with much better stats because he didn't have a slow start holding him down.
Three more up
Justin Morneau (88 AB, 16 R, 5 HR, 18 RBI, 0 SB, .318)
Denard Span (81 AB, 10 R, 1 HR, 12 RBI, 5 SB, .321)
Brendan Harris (40 AB, 7 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 0 SB, .350)
Bizarro World hitter of the month: Alexi Casilla (69 AB, 6 R, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 2 SB, .174)
With Carlos Gomez, Delmon Young, and Michael Cuddyer's struggles (among others), you wouldn't have thought this decision would have been so easy... but it was. Casilla has been so much worse than any of them, it's just plain shocking. Casilla's OPS thus far is .447. That's almost a full 100 points lower than Gomez's, who has the second-lowest OPS on the team. That's also well over 100 points worse than Kubel's (or Morneau's) slugging percentage! Out of 198 qualified batters, he ranks 193rd in average, 194th in OBP SLG, and 197th in OPS. Now you know why it was an easy decision.
Pitcher of the month: Glen Perkins (29 IP, 2.48, 1.00, 6 BB, 16 K)
While all of the other, more-heralded starters struggled, Perkins put up three consecutive 8-inning outings before getting knocked around a little in his fourth (and most recent) start. All in all, though, Perkins finished the month with the lowest ERA of any of the starters by a full run and a half, and only Jose Mijares and his 3 scoreless innings had a lower ERA among the relievers. He also maintained a WHIP of 1.00 and allowed zero home runs. What is most telling about the pitching this month is that, despite their poor starts, Slowey and Blackburn were both able to rebound and get listed below.
Three more up
Nick Blackburn (31.1 IP, 4.02, 1.37, 7 BB, 12 K)
Joe Nathan (7 IP, 2.57, 1.00, 2 BB, 7 K)
Kevin Slowey (26.1 IP, 4.44, 1.44, 2 BB, 19 K)
Bizarro World pitcher of the month: Scott Baker (14.2 IP, 9.82, 1.70, 4 BB, 12 K)
Baker missed his first start due to an injury, but his return was not as sweet as a Twins fan would have hoped for. He gave up seven home runs total and six runs in each of his two starts, and not coincidentally did not make it out of the fifth inning in either. His last start was decent and most likely indicates those horrible times are behind him, though it wasn't enough to keep him from this unfortunate honor.
April in Review: Minor Leagues
Minor League Hitter of the Month: Danny Valencia, 3B, New Britain (AA)
81 PA, 3 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 0/1 SB, 13 BB, 14 K, .269/.395/.463/.858
Valencia has hit at every step in the minors, posting an OPS over .800 at each stop despite playing in pitchers' parks. As a now 24-year old college hitter, this was not exactly awe-inspiring or even unexpected. What got Valencia the top spot this month, though, was the improvement in his plate discipline. His strikeout rate has not changed significantly from his career average, but in April he walked in 16% of his plate appearances, a huge jump from the 6.3% walk rate he posted at New Britain in the second half of last season. The question now becomes whether this is a sustainable change or just the result of a small sample size, but either way it was enough for him to be the Twins' top minor league hitter in April.
Honorable Mentions: Ramon Santana, SS, Beloit (A); Rene Leveret, 1B, Fort Myers (A+)
Minor League Pitcher of the Month: Carlos Gutierrez, RHP, Fort Myers (A+)
4 G, 18 IP, 9 K, 2 BB, 8 H, 1 ER, 5.14 GO/AO
One of the Twins' two first round picks in the 2008 draft, Gutierrez did not impress those of us who subsequently watched his poor pitching performance in the College World Series. His performance out of the Fort Myers bullpen last season was impressive and then the Twins decided to turn Gutierrez into a starter; the early results could not be better. Known as a sinkerballer, Gutierrez has coaxed 5.14 ground outs for every air out, while only walking 1 batter per nine innings. Sure, his strikeout numbers have not been great, but if he can continue to force the ball into the ground that won't matter, as shown by his sparkling 0.50 ERA in April (due to some luck, as his FIP is "only" 2.70, but still very good).
Honorable Mentions: Rob Delaney, RHP, New Britain (AA); Anthony Slama, RHP, New Britain (AA)
Minor League Disappointment of the Month: Shooter Hunt, RHP, Beloit (A)
4 G, 11.2 IP, 10 K, 23 BB, 9 H, 14 ER, 0.85 GO/AO
Shooter Hunt got off to about the best start possible in his professional debut at Elizabethtown after the Twins chose him at #31 in the 2008 draft. Unfortunately, the whispers about his struggles with his control showed up when he moved up to Beloit, and those whispers have turned into shouts this season. Taking a quick glance at his statistics, it's not hard to figure out what Hunt's problem has been: the 23 walks in only 11.2 frames, nearly 2 per inning. There's not much else to say other than that if Hunt can't throw the ball over the plate, he'll never be a useful pitcher at any level.
81 PA, 3 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 0/1 SB, 13 BB, 14 K, .269/.395/.463/.858
Valencia has hit at every step in the minors, posting an OPS over .800 at each stop despite playing in pitchers' parks. As a now 24-year old college hitter, this was not exactly awe-inspiring or even unexpected. What got Valencia the top spot this month, though, was the improvement in his plate discipline. His strikeout rate has not changed significantly from his career average, but in April he walked in 16% of his plate appearances, a huge jump from the 6.3% walk rate he posted at New Britain in the second half of last season. The question now becomes whether this is a sustainable change or just the result of a small sample size, but either way it was enough for him to be the Twins' top minor league hitter in April.
Honorable Mentions: Ramon Santana, SS, Beloit (A); Rene Leveret, 1B, Fort Myers (A+)
Minor League Pitcher of the Month: Carlos Gutierrez, RHP, Fort Myers (A+)
4 G, 18 IP, 9 K, 2 BB, 8 H, 1 ER, 5.14 GO/AO
One of the Twins' two first round picks in the 2008 draft, Gutierrez did not impress those of us who subsequently watched his poor pitching performance in the College World Series. His performance out of the Fort Myers bullpen last season was impressive and then the Twins decided to turn Gutierrez into a starter; the early results could not be better. Known as a sinkerballer, Gutierrez has coaxed 5.14 ground outs for every air out, while only walking 1 batter per nine innings. Sure, his strikeout numbers have not been great, but if he can continue to force the ball into the ground that won't matter, as shown by his sparkling 0.50 ERA in April (due to some luck, as his FIP is "only" 2.70, but still very good).
Honorable Mentions: Rob Delaney, RHP, New Britain (AA); Anthony Slama, RHP, New Britain (AA)
Minor League Disappointment of the Month: Shooter Hunt, RHP, Beloit (A)
4 G, 11.2 IP, 10 K, 23 BB, 9 H, 14 ER, 0.85 GO/AO
Shooter Hunt got off to about the best start possible in his professional debut at Elizabethtown after the Twins chose him at #31 in the 2008 draft. Unfortunately, the whispers about his struggles with his control showed up when he moved up to Beloit, and those whispers have turned into shouts this season. Taking a quick glance at his statistics, it's not hard to figure out what Hunt's problem has been: the 23 walks in only 11.2 frames, nearly 2 per inning. There's not much else to say other than that if Hunt can't throw the ball over the plate, he'll never be a useful pitcher at any level.
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