Not too bad for a week’s work! Too bad he will have to sit for a few days in Miami.
Nelson Cruz AL Player of the Week
Month: July 2019
Did you know?
That Martin Pérez struck out four in his outing against the Yankees (game No. 99 of the season), and with his first one to Gary Sánchez in the second inning, he joined all four Twins starters with 90 strikeouts, making the 2019 Twins’ starting rotation the first five-man rotation in Twins history to record 90-plus strikeouts apiece through less than 100 games of any Minnesota Twins season ever. Credit to MN Twins GameNotes
Twins minor league players of the week – Celestino & Colina
Twins have named Low-A Cedar Rapids Kernels outfielder Gilberto Celestino and AA Pensacola Blue Wahoos right-handed pitcher Edwar Colina Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week.
In six games for the Kernels, Celestino hit .385 (10-for-26) with three doubles, one home run, four RBI, one walk with a 1.023 OPS. Celestino had a rough April but has been coming on since then. This year in 369 AB’s he is hitting .249 with 6 home runs and 39 RBI. The 20-year old right-handed hitting Celestino is already in his fourth season of pro ball. Celestino was acquired by the Twins along with right-handed pitcher Jorge Alcala near the 2018 trade deadline in exchange for right-handed pitcher Ryan Pressly.
Colina made his first AA start on Thursday for the Blue Wahoos against the Mobile BayBears, pitching 7 innings (CG), allowing one unearned run with three hits allowed, one walk and 10 strikeouts. Colina was signed by the Twins as an undrafted free agent at the end of September in 2015. Keep an eye on Colina….
Lewis goes yard again in Miracle’s win – Top Twins prospect provides support for righty Colina’s gem
Twins make a deal for relief help
The Minnesota Twins announced late yesterday that they acquired right-handed pitchers Sergio Romo and Chris Vallimont, along with a player to be named later from the Miami Marlins, in exchange for first baseman Lewin Diaz.
Twins acquire Sergio Romo, Chris Vallimont and a PTBNL from Miami in exchange for Lewin Diaz
The Minnesota Twins are real road beasts
According the MN Twins July 26 GameNotes:
The Twins have gone 31-19 on the road this season, a .620 road winning percentage
that is the best in baseball. The Twins went 29-52 on the road in 2018. Twins have outscored opponents on the road 307-242. Their 110 road home runs have already surpassed their total of 80 from last year, and are only three shy of the Twins record of 113 set back in 1963.
At 30-20 (.600), Atlanta is the only other club with a .600-plus winning mark.
As the trade deadline approaches
Some time ago I saw that Derek Falvey was quoted as saying and I translate loosely here that-
At the trade deadline you are required to make some moves. If you are out of the race you should make some trades to improve your team by acquiring young talent. If you are in the race you need to make some moves to make your team better for the push to the play-offs and beyond. Standing-pat is not an option.
To me that makes perfect sense and I don’t know why every team does not do this. Now in the next handful of days we will see if Falvey and his partner-in-crime Thad Levine will walk their talk. The Twins are surely in the race and since no team is perfect, there is always room for improvement. Pitching is always in demand and the Twins bullpen has been purged lately of relievers Adalberto Mejia, Mike Morin, Matt Magill and Blake Parker. The starting rotation is starting to wobble as of late and the Twins could use an ace to lead their rotation and take some pressure off Jose Berrios.
But as the old saying goes, you have to give up something to get something and that is always tough. Personally I have no issue with trading prospects for a proven commodity that will stay in your organization. I am not a fan of trading for a short-term rental player. Having said that, I would not consider trading a number one overall pick like Royce Lewis. Keep in mind though that there are always new and better prospects. Prospects don’t always come to fruition and players you did not see as a prospect develop over-night and become big leaguers.
There are also certain players like Luis Arraez that I wouldn’t trade unless the deal was a real steal. Arraez is the kind of player that the Twins need in the long run, a young guy that can get on base, the Twins don’t have many of these kinds of players and they don’t come around often.
The next week or so will be interesting for sure, bring it on Mr. Falvey and Mr. Levine.
Did you know?
Prior to last nights game against the Bronx Bombers the Twins ranked sixth in the AL in total attendance, having drawn 1,296,842 this season, trailing New York (2,174,093), Los Angeles (1,868,163), Boston (1,766,667), Houston (1,730,832) and Texas (1,409,726). Rocco’s boys now have drawn 30,000+ in 15 of their last 19 home games. The Twins have sold out 168 regular season games at Target Field since 2010, they sold out 81 in 2010, 57 in 2011, eight in 2012, six in 2013, none in 2014, six in 2015, one in 2016, one in 2017, one in 2018, and seven in 2019. Twins fans are showing they will come to watch a good team play ball. In spite of the teams low attendance numbers to start the season, they are now averaging 26,629 per game which is over 3,000 on average per game more than last season. At this pace they are on track to hit 2.2 million fans.
Twins minor league players of the week – Davis & Teng
AAA Rochester outfielder Jaylin Davis and Low-A Cedar Rapids right-handed pitcher Kai-Wei Teng have been named Twins Minor League Player and Pitcher of the Week.
In seven games for the Red Wings, Davis hit .458 (11-for-24) with five home runs, 11 RBI, five walks, 12 runs scored and a 1.664 OPS. Davis, 25, was selected in the 24th round of the 2015 First-Year Player Draft out of Appalachian State University. The right-handed hitting Davis started the season in Pensacola and moved up to Rochester on June 19. Steady climb thru the Twins system and is getting close to making his big league debut.
Teng made the start on Sunday for the Kernels, pitching 6. shutout innings with five hits allowed no walks and a season-high 10 strikeouts. Teng, 20, was signed by the Twins as an undrafted free agent in October of 2017 out of Taichung, Taiwan.
Kernels pitcher Kai-Wei Teng has been named Midwest League Pitcher of the Week
Couple of things about A’s and Twins
The Oakland A’s team that the Twins are playing are no slouches and are a very good team. The Twins have split the first two games and it will be interesting to see how the final two games go.
The Oakland A’s are 37-17 (.685) dating back to May 16, which is tied with the Yankees for the best record in the majors over that span. They have a 3.66 ERA (201 er in 493.2 ip), which is second lowest to the Dodgers (3.27). The A’s lead the majors in home runs (104), slugging (.491), and extra base hits (226), are tied for second in runs (321) and are fifth in OPS (.824). The A’s have outscored the opposition 321-215 for a run differential of +106.
Since moving to Oakland in 1968, the A’s are 308-304 against Minnesota, that includes 172-131 in Oakland and 136-173 in Minnesota (19-18 at Target Field). The Athletics are 365-373 all-time against the Twins and have a 1,012-1,009 record against the Twins/Senators. The 1,012 are the A’s most against any franchise.
Tonights starter for the Twins Jose Berrios has thrown his curveball 37.4% of the time (337/900) vs right-handed batters this season, 3rd highest among qualified SPs in MLB; League Average is 15.1%. José Berríos has induced opposing hitters to ground into just 5 double plays in 94 opportunities (5.3%) this season, 6th worst among qualified SPs in MLB, the league average is 10.6%.
Twins DSL minor leaguer Jesus Medina suspended for 72 games
The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball announced yesterday that three Minor League players have been suspended following their violations of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.
Minnesota Twins Minor League pitcher Jesus Medina was one of the players suspended and has received a 72-game suspension without pay after testing positive for Stanozolol, a performance-enhancing substance in violation of the Program.
The suspension of Medina, who is on the roster of the Dominican Summer League Twins is effective immediately.
Medina, a Venezuelan right-handed pitcher was signed by the Minnesota Twins on July 4, 2018 as a 16 year ol free agent and started his pro career in the Dominican Summer League this year. Medina, was 0-2 with a 7.13 ERA in two starts and six relief appearances this year for the Dominican Summer League Twins.