NFT: Twins (8-8) @ Yankees (11-9), Monday, 4/23/2018, 07:05p ET

when Stanton and Sanchez find their swings, and even more if Bird gets healthy. Stanton has started hitting the ball hard, but still needs to work on his launch angle. I suspect that he needs to start his hands higher to get more drop to the contact point.

get fooled by a 91mph gimme down the pipe. That was bad luck.

2 out, 2 run double.

and smoked if off the top of the wall in deep LF-CF.

3-0

Odorizzi looking gassed with 32 pitches already.

and spending the next 3 months on the DL.

3-0 Yankees.

In comment 13927129 shockeyisthebest8056 said:

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and spending the next 3 months on the DL.

Hicks did that yesterday, except he didn't damage himself.

...

Line Drive HR.

Always looks to hit line drives and this one went out

MM reporting on how Andujar was hot and Didi pushing him on and gets interrupted with a lazerbomb.

4-0

11xbh and 3hr and counting. Ain't going nowhere.

Man, this kid is amazing!

3rd base for the next ten years!!

making me look stupid thinking he was swinging out of control. Glad he is doing it, too.

Drury to the bench... ideally we can flip him for twice what we paid.

I love Drury but can't interrupt Andujar or Torres ABs more then Toe would

In comment 13927144 dune69 said:

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3rd base for the next ten years!!

Brandon Drury is going to be a good bench bat the way things are going with Andujar. He's an above-average MLB hitter already with that approach to hit everything as a line drive

is if he puts up a really big season as a rookie, we don't need to pay for Machado and you can instead spend that money on pitching

In comment 13927154 dpinzow said:

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is if he puts up a really big season as a rookie, we don't need to pay for Machado and you can instead spend that money on pitching

Or we can go after bryce...

we wouldn't need Bryce either. Get a front line starter to pair with Severino and win a title.

That said I have no idea what front line starters will even hit FA, but if all the prospects keep playing well Harper and Machado would likely be contracts we don't need on the books.

In comment 13927155 adamg said:

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In comment 13927154 dpinzow said: Quote: is if he puts up a really big season as a rookie, we don't need to pay for Machado and you can instead spend that money on pitching Or we can go after bryce...

As good as Bryce is, I think we need another big starter to pair with Severino in the future, regardless of how far we go this year

In comment 13927155 adamg said:

Quote:

In comment 13927154 dpinzow said: Quote: is if he puts up a really big season as a rookie, we don't need to pay for Machado and you can instead spend that money on pitching Or we can go after bryce...

Or better yet Kershaw if he opts out:)

but I've come around on the idea of spending all the money on pitching - starters AND relievers. Robertson's deal is up at the end of the year, and Dellin is Dellin - we'll need reinforcements.

durability long term. He's got a ton of miles for a 25 year old. I can see him rapidly declining at 30. I'd rather Machado if I had to pick, but I don't want either of them.

and has been lights out thus far. Probably can get him on a more reasonable contract than Kershaw.

In comment 13927180 Mike from SI said:

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and has been lights out thus far. Probably can get him on a more reasonable contract than Kershaw.

And Kershaw will be 31 I think by next year and has missed time for back trouble a couple times...some risk there too, despite him being Kershaw

since 1920:

Dimaggio
Andujar

In comment 13927145 section125 said:

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making me look stupid thinking he was swinging out of control. Glad he is doing it, too.

:)
Hopefully, he keeps it up. Or something close to it!

This started with Tanaka hitting a batter with 2 outs. Come on, dude.

Time for Green soon.

stupid right now, but gets Mauer to pop out. HBP, walk, single with two outs.

but IMO his secondary stuff isn't great anymore...his fastball is essentially a bp fastball right now. When he tries to cruise with a lead and cut back on throwing the splitter, he often starts getting hit in a hurry

In comment 13927215 mfsd said:

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but IMO his secondary stuff isn't great anymore...his fastball is essentially a bp fastball right now. When he tries to cruise with a lead and cut back on throwing the splitter, he often starts getting hit in a hurry

true, but this was HBP, walk and single to Dozier after falling behind 3-1 in the count.

Stanton!

mashes one.

5-1

that should be a big one on statcast

.

high pitch once too often.

Exit Velo guess - 116.5 at 32 deg......

In comment 13927216 section125 said:

Quote:

In comment 13927215 mfsd said: Quote: but IMO his secondary stuff isn't great anymore...his fastball is essentially a bp fastball right now. When he tries to cruise with a lead and cut back on throwing the splitter, he often starts getting hit in a hurry true, but this was HBP, walk and single to Dozier after falling behind 3-1 in the count.

yup you're right. I think part of it his concentration goes in and out sometimes too. The kind of guy who's often better with a 1 run lead than a 5 run lead

... yawn (not).

Jesus.

In comment 13927240 Del Shofner said:

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... yawn (not).

Andujar now leads the AL in multiple extra-base hit games - and he's been up what, a week?

but damn he looks great. Carries himself like he belongs, too.

easily anymore

And for our angst about Tanaka, he’s settled back down and looking good

...

In comment 13927262 shockeyisthebest8056 said:

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...

Struck him out twice. Missed check swing that was well past the plate and the FB was a perfect pitch.

the strike zone. That is two or three strikes he called balls.

But man the ump missed strike 3 against him there too. His strike zone has gone bye bye

still lost the plate. Stanton clearly out on that previous pitch and then the RBI single.

for the second time tonight. He's getting his eye back.

.

Stanton and Sanchez starting to square up pitches. El Gary to the WT in straight away center....

this kid can hit too.

tonight......Austin 2 out, 2 run double.

.

for the Yanks.

Clean single.

.

Way to go kid

pressure is off. Gleyber will settle in.

In comment 13927320 mfsd said:

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Way to go kid

Torres, that is

Glad I kept this rout on.

Every position we are young, Frazier will spell Gardy. Austin is ready If Bird continues to NickJohnson, every single position.

Only promising position players remaining are Wade really. Everyone else is playing well including Didi going to the next level .

I would keep Torreyes as the 25th man and ideally Keep Wade over Drury just for his ability to play CF in a pinch.

This is so damn fun to watch!

Our big 4 , plus all these baby bombers all blossoming..

This is special and once in a lifetime. Doubt we witness such a fun young team over a couple year period ever again. Let's make the most of it and get north of 30 rings.

Haha

.

This lineups starting to destroy pitching staffs as expected

tonight

complain about getting smacked?

.

Last couple days the temp is reasonably cool and not freakin freezing. So the bats come alive.

despite the big lead, before Didi hit his bomb.

how did that work out?

We should prob just make Austin the permanent 1B. Bird can retire

to pitch for the Reds in a blowout in Atlanta. He’s griping they showed the HR he gave up, not the guy he struck out.

The lineup these days don't mess with this lineup. Right now this is the best 9 we have and the lineup is perfect. Torreyes is the perfect utility man off the bench. I know Drury is talented and we gave up good players for him but I'll take Andujar's bat every day. Plus his defense hasn't been as bad as predicted. When Bird comes back I guess he and Austin can platoon at 1B. But I don't want to see guys like Walker out there.

Starting to come together

In comment 13927378 Ace718 said:

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The lineup these days don't mess with this lineup. Right now this is the best 9 we have and the lineup is perfect. Torreyes is the perfect utility man off the bench. I know Drury is talented and we gave up good players for him but I'll take Andujar's bat every day. Plus his defense hasn't been as bad as predicted. When Bird comes back I guess he and Austin can platoon at 1B. But I don't want to see guys like Walker out there.

True. Walker might be insurance at 1B but I'm okay, we should just DFA him or something.. he's not worthy at any ABs over Austin, Torres or even Torreyes

Keep rolling.

In comment 13927378 Ace718 said:

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The lineup these days don't mess with this lineup. Right now this is the best 9 we have and the lineup is perfect. Torreyes is the perfect utility man off the bench. I know Drury is talented and we gave up good players for him but I'll take Andujar's bat every day. Plus his defense hasn't been as bad as predicted. When Bird comes back I guess he and Austin can platoon at 1B. But I don't want to see guys like Walker out there.

Gonna have some tough decisions to make with Walker, Drury, Torreyes...
Jace Petersen was DFA'd. Maybe they go 12 man pitching staff with the SWB shuttle and keep 4 man bench? They paid $4.5 mill for Walker so he could be traded as that is a very reasonable contract for his talent.

About the pitching targets they could add at the deadline.

In comment 13927373 mfsd said:

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to pitch for the Reds in a blowout in Atlanta. He’s griping they showed the HR he gave up, not the guy he struck out.

That was great.

"It was a wall-scraper!"

* starters have pitched at least 6 innings 3 straight times out. CC probably could have but they did right taking him out on a cold night. What a difference going to the pen for 2-3 innings instead of 4-5 innings. Tanaka looked good. Would have been nice if he could have finished the 7th.
* Giancarlo! Welcome! Gary getting hot too.
* Odorizzi impressed me by battling and still giving the Twinkies 5 innings, keeping them in the game after a brutal 1st inning.
* starters giving length should allow them to drop a pitcher when Drury comes back instead of a position player. 13 pitchers is ridiculous. I think you need 3 position players + a catcher on the bench minimum.
* Andujar is the real deal. He belongs in the lineup everyday at 3b. Drury as a Zobrist-style super sub??
* Glad for Torres that he got the monkey off his back. Now he can relax and settle in.
* When (if) Bird comes back, how can they justify keeping Walker on the team? Austin is better, younger, cheaper. For all the talk about vet FAs not getting signed, seems to me the system works. Old guys aren't going to get paid anymore. The clubs have wised up.
* I really don't hink they will, nor do I think they should, go after Harper or Machado. They don't need position players. $$ would be better spent to go after a front line starter. They could then dump Gray for some lower level prospects to a small market team, replenish the minors some more, and still have Sheffield, Tate and Abreau pushing up to replace CC and any injureds.

Walker as he is getting $4.5 mill plus incentives. Thing with Walker is he can play 4 positions. Austin can only play 1B or corner OF. Bird is only 1B. Walker should be easily tradable with a team friendly salary.

I agree on 7 BP only and 1 additional bench player. Drury, if healthy can take over Walker's utility spot.

In comment 13927599 section125 said:

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Walker as he is getting $4.5 mill plus incentives. Thing with Walker is he can play 4 positions. Austin can only play 1B or corner OF. Bird is only 1B. Walker should be easily tradable with a team friendly salary. I agree on 7 BP only and 1 additional bench player. Drury, if healthy can take over Walker's utility spot.

Yeah, definitely can't cut him, but I think Drury can fill that role for less $$ with more athleticism. Agree, somebody in the race who needs a vet will take Walker at the deadline. By then that club would only be on the hook for $2 million

He's a known quantity and gives them positional flexibility. That's the biggest thing working against Austin - he's hitting well at the moment, but he's strictly a platoon 1B/DH. If Torres is here to stay (and I'm not sure he is just yet, but let's say he is) then I'll bet Torreyes is the most likely to go. He has at least one option remaining, and Torres can fill in at SS if needed. Either that, or Torres goes back to Scranton. Right now, Drury is a question mark. Bird is a question mark. They aren't going to deal Walker when the future of those two is so uncertain.

a lot of care with their treatment of Torres, and I don’t think he’d be up right now if they had any planned intention of sending him back down.

My guess is that they take their sweet time taking Drury off of the DL.

First person to come off of the 25-man is Cole, and Austin goes when Bird is ready. It won’t seem crazy at that point, because Austin probably can’t sustain current output if he continues to strikeout 30%+. Austin would be a good piece to include in a deal for pitching.

Walker has been tremendously disappointing so far. I have mixed feelings about how they should handle. I think he obviously improves from what we’ve seen, but I don’t want them to give him the PT for it to happen. I wan him as a bench piece only, but it probably requires a bunch of ABs for him to work his head out of his ass.

his hands are incredibly quick. That swing on the double was ridiculous.

you may be right about Austin being one of the people destined to return to SWB when Bird returns, his minor league stats are pretty good. His MLB stats are not far off the MiLB stats. He is hitting well and that may very well be because he is surrounded by an excellent lineup and he gets pitched to.

I do expect that the Yanks will take their time getting Bird back in the lineup so as to not aggravate the ankle. So, by the time Bird returns they will have a pretty decent sample size of Austin. He may very well be a piece for a starter, but seeing Bird's history, Cash may very well wait til the trade deadline to move him.

It is a good problem to have.
Tyler Austin MiLB Stats. - ( New Window )

I’m just taking a cautious view of what we’ve seen so far.

He K’s 30% of the time, and right now he’s got a BABIP of .400

He does take his walks, and the raw power would appear to be legitimate.

He definitely has value.

He's not much of a 1B and can't play anywhere else. He also struggles against RHP. If a team needs a righty 1B/DH for a platoon, he'll perform well. As an everyday player, probably not so much.

are struggling.

Hadn't really heard of this one


Swenson - ( New Window )

In comment 13928124 Jay in Toronto said:

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are struggling. Hadn't really heard of this one Swenson - ( New Window )

Age 24 and in AA ball - glad it’s coming together for him but sort of now or never given his age, I would think.

benefiting from being in a loaded lineup. Coming up with guys on base often, probably getting more fastballs than he might otherwise

He's a guy who struggles against heat and pounds off-speed stuff, though.

Look, he is what he is - a nice platoon bat who doesn't really have a position.

In comment 13928138 Del Shofner said:

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In comment 13928124 Jay in Toronto said: Quote: are struggling. Hadn't really heard of this one Swenson - ( New Window ) Age 24 and in AA ball - glad it’s coming together for him but sort of now or never given his age, I would think.

Sounds like he was somewhat derailed by injuries. Hope he gets up to Scranton soon.

In comment 13928138 Del Shofner said:

Quote:

In comment 13928124 Jay in Toronto said: Quote: are struggling. Hadn't really heard of this one Swenson - ( New Window ) Age 24 and in AA ball - glad it’s coming together for him but sort of now or never given his age, I would think.

Sounds like he was somewhat derailed by injuries. Hope he gets up to Scranton soon.

In comment 13928052 Greg from LI said:

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He's not much of a 1B and can't play anywhere else. He also struggles against RHP. If a team needs a righty 1B/DH for a platoon, he'll perform well. As an everyday player, probably not so much.

Maybe we should give him time before discarding him. By the time Bird is ready we'll have a pretty decent sample size of what Austin can really do. Bird isn't the handiest of fielders either. If Bird can stay healthy he's the obvious starter, so far a big if...

BTW, I thought Austin was a corner OF too? (not like there is space for him there.

But he's not good out there.

There are worse things in the world than a Bird/Austin platoon at first base, but not too many teams would keep two 1B only guys.

of Austin's 4 homers this year, 3 are off Marco Estrada and one is off an outfielder.

in unloading Tyler Austin. He hasn't played 100 games, has he? I'd DH him against lefties and let Stanton play LF when Bird comes back.

Eventually, if everyone gets healthy, there's going to be an infielder glut. I'm just guessing that Austin's limitations to a particular role might make him more expendable than others.

In comment 13928511 Phil in LA said:

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in unloading Tyler Austin. He hasn't played 100 games, has he? I'd DH him against lefties and let Stanton play LF when Bird comes back.

If I have a choice of Drury, and possibly Sanchez, Judge, Stanton or Hicks to DH against lefties depnding on the D alignment, Austin's name is not getting near the lineup card.

In comment 13928521 Greg from LI said:

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Eventually, if everyone gets healthy, there's going to be an infielder glut. I'm just guessing that Austin's limitations to a particular role might make him more expendable than others.

This is true. But again, can they trust Bird to stay healthy for extended periods of time? The big tease. Keeping two 1B only players is not efficient especially with Walker and Drury there who can play most IF positions. Austin likely has options left and will be stashed.

Seems like he's been up and down several times. I actually don't know, just assumed that he might be out of them now.