Tag: Jorge Polanco

How can you not like Luis Arraez

Luis Arraez – Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Since being recalled back to Minnesota on June 18, Luis Arraez is hitting .389 (28-for-72) with four doubles, one home run, four RBI, 10 runs scored, seven walks, a .443 on-base percentage and a .929 OPS. Among all rookies with a minimum of 70 plate appearances since that date, he ranks first in batting average, second in on-base percentage and tied for third in hits. Arraez has 37 hits through his first 30 career games, tied for fourth most in Twins history through 30: Kirby Puckett (42 in 1984), Kennys Vargas (40 in 2014), Chuck Knoblauch (38 in 1991), Danny Santana (37 in 2014).

His AB this past Tuesday was certainly one of the best ever seen by Twins fans. The Twins were down 3-2 to the New York Mets going into the bottom of the ninth against Mets closer Edwin Diaz. Diaz struck out Miguel Sano swinging for out one and then had to face Jonathan Schoop and on his second pitch Schoop grabbed his ribs and was removed from the game. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli brought in Luis Arraez to face the hard-throwing Diaz with an inherited 0-2 count. Arraez fouled off four pitches while working the count full before taking a walk bringing the Target Field crown to its feet. Mitch Garver singled but Jorge Polanco struck out for the second out of the inning. Marwin Gonzalez reached first base loading the bases on an infield single and Nelson Cruz stepped to the plate with the bases loaded but on a full count he popped up to the Mets third baseman in foul territory retiring the Twins and giving the Mets a 3-2 victory. The Arraez AB is an AB that will go down in Twins lore as one of the best ever.

Looks like second base is all his (Arraez) but he may have to wait until next season. Jonathan Schoop is a streaky hitter but I think he deserves to keep his job at second through this year and having a player like Arraez on the bench is a real luxury.

Jorge Polanco is a gem and deserves to be an All-Star

Jorge Polanco on 2019 picture day

Jorge Polanco, who signed a five-year contract extension this offseason to remain with the organization through 2023, has established himself as one of the top offensive shortstops in Twins history. Ranking first in average (.284), slugging (.448), OPS (.791), wOBA (.345), Isolated Power (.164), BABIP (.319) and pitches-per-plate appearance (3.97).

  • He has the lowest percentage of swings at the first pitch (16.5%), and he has the second lowest at-bat/home run percentage (39.28 ABs).
  • He also ranks tied for third in 4+ hit games (7), fourth in percentage of swings with balls put in play (44.1%) and seventh in XBH (126).
  • Since his debut in 2014, Polanco ranks fourth among all Major League shortstops in batting average, sixth in on-base percentage, seventh in OPS and in swing-miss percentage (15.6). He’s also tied for the fourth-fewest strikeouts in that span (209) with Alexei
    Ramirez, who hasn’t played since 2016, (the only active player with at least 300 games at shortstop and less strikeouts is Miami infielder Miguel Rojas, who has struck out 127 times in 338 games as a shortstop since 2014).

*All stats with minimum of 300 games as shortstop. Data courtesy of Twins GameNotes.

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2018 Twins Turkey of the Year is:

The 2018 baseball season is in the books, free agents everywhere are sitting back and waiting for the offers to pour in, a number of teams (including our Twins) have hired new managers. The temperature is 31 degrees outside and there is a slight coating of snow on the ground here in Plymouth so we know it is time to start sorting our candidates for the 2018 Twins Turkey of the Year.

The Twins finished in second place again this season behind the Cleveland  Indians. This past season the Twins were 78-84 as compared to 85-77 in 2017 and this year they were just 13 games back as compared to 17 games behind the year previous. Yet the 2018 Twins were looked on as failures as compared to the 2017 team that was a Wild Card participant albeit for just the one game against the New York Yankees. Manager Paul Molitor was the American League Manager of the Year in 2017 and after the 2018 season ended he found himself unemployed along with most of his coaching staff after signing a new three-year contract just a year earlier. Twins fans were unhappy and attendance dropped to its lowest point since 2004 at the Metrodome. Meanwhile the Twins Front Office added to staff and continued the “new ways of fielding a winning team” such as increasing the number of shifts, playing four outfielders here and there and jumping on the new “opener” strategy employed by teams such as Tampa Bay and Oakland.  

Continue reading 2018 Twins Turkey of the Year is:

Twins on trading spree like none seen in many a year

In the last five days of July the Falvey/Levine regime traded five experienced players off their big league roster and acquired 12 players that includes five pitchers, 4 outfielders and 4 infielders. The departed players have appeared in 2,674 games and the pitchers have notched 160 wins. The acquired players have no wins by the pitchers in the big leagues and have played in a total of 899 big league games of which Logan Forsythe has 807.

I grant you that Brian Dozier and Eduardo Escobar were both going to be free agents at the end of the season. Lance Lynn has not performed up to expectations, Zach Duke performed pretty much as expected and Ryan Pressly was probably over-worked but was a decent relief pitcher. The team itself has under-performed dramatically but to be fair I think the same can be said of the Twins “on the field” management staff. 

Continue reading Twins on trading spree like none seen in many a year

Falvey and Levine should DFA Molitor

Paul Molitor

Should Derek Falvey and Thad Levine be looking for a new manager for the Minnesota Twins? I know, I know, they signed him to a new deal after last season right after the Twins made the playoffs after a seven-year absence.

I can’t believe that Paul Molitor is their guy, and they in essence had no choice but to sign Molitor or get run out-of-town. The Twins are playing terribly, way below expectations in spite of good starting pitching. The bullpen started out decent but Molitor’s bullpen management quickly put an end to that.

You can’t put all the blame on Molitor but you can’t get rid of the players so the easiest thing to change is the manager. This team needs new leadership before the problem gets even more serious. The team doesn’t look like it is having fun or even takes the losses very seriously. Come on now, eight walk-off losses in 50 games, that is crazy.

Too many injuries? Every team has injuries, you just need to know how to manage them. Miguel Sano has been terrible so far and I think a part of that is because of Jorge Polanco being out due to suspension and not much can be done about that. Sano and Polanco are best buddies from way back and when I watched them this spring they were like joined at the hip, if you saw one you saw the other.

Derek Falvey and Thad Levine

Falvey and Levine aren’t blameless in this fiasco this year either. If Polanco is out, and Nick Gordon is tearing it up in AA and now hitting well in AAA why not bring him up and see what he can do and see if he can kick-start this anemic offense? It obviously is not breaking any barriers to bring up a guy from AA with little to no time in AAA.

Having said all this, Falvey and Levine deserve a chance to determine their own fate and that is difficult to do if you don’t have “your guy” managing your team. I know that Paul Molitor was a heck of a ballplayer, is in the Hall of Fame and is a local boy made good but that does not necessarily make him a good manager. Thank him for his service and let’s move on. Baseball is about winning, if you can’t do the job, its next man up. I am waiting to see of Falvey and Levine will “man up”.

 

Not all first round picks are born to be stars

For some baseball fans the MLB June Amateur Draft is one of the highlights of the season. They can’t wait to see who their favorite team drafts and then can’t wait to see that player wear their favorite team colors. Who knows, maybe their team just landed the next great baseball superstar, but few consider the fact that even first round selections can turn out to baseball “duds”.

If you pick a player in round one you expect him to be a bona-fide big league star, an All-Star type of player. Sadly, a lot of them will not meet those expectations for one of many different reasons.

The 2018 June Amateur Draft is just around the corner so it is time to take a look at the Minnesota Twins previous first round selections for the last ten years and see how they are doing.

 

The Minnesota Twins have had 18 first round selections in the last ten years (2008-2017). 

  • Three of the picks are playing for the Minnesota Twins at this time. Gibson, Buxton and Berrios
  • One of the picks is playing for another big league team. Hicks
  • One of the picks was selected in the Rule 5 draft, pitched briefly in the big leagues but was returned to the Twins minor league system. Bard
  • Seven of the picks are in the Twins system and still have a shot at wearing Twins colors at some point in the future. Lewis, Rooker, Kirilloff, Jay, Gordon, Stewart and Bard
  • Three of the picks are no longer with the Minnesota organization and are playing in the minors elsewhere. Michael, Harrison and Wimmers
  • Four are no longer playing pro baseball. Boyd, Bashore, Gutierrez and Hunt

 

Twins first round picks for last 10 years

2017 – Royce Lewis (shortstop) – First pick overall out of high school. Has been at Cedar Rapids (Low A) all season and is hitting .315 with a .368 OBP in 124 at bats with one home run and 13 stolen bases in 14 attempts. Signing bonus – $6.725 million

2017 – Brent Rooker – (outfielder) – 35th selection overall out of college. Has spent the season in Chattanooga (AA) and is hitting .233 in 163 at bats with four homers and 20 and has struck out 53 times. Has shown power in the past but no so much this year. The Twins seem to be grooming him to play first base. Signing bonus – $1.935 million

2016 – Alex Kirilloff – (outfielder) – 15th overall pick out of high school. Missed all of 2017 with TJ surgery and has played with Cedar Rapids all of this season hitting .325 in 151 at bats and a slick .959 OPS. Signing bonus – $2,817,100 million

2015 – Tyler Jay (LHP) – Selected sixth over all out of college. Pitched as a starter in 2015 and 2016 and strictly a reliever since. Injuries have plagued Jay and last season he pitched a total of just 11.2 innings for three different teams. He also pitched in the AFL where he threw 9.2 innings and had a 5.59 ERA. This year in AA Chattanooga he has thrown 14 innings striking out 9, walking 5,  has allowed 16 hits and has an ERA of 1.93. Signing bonus – $3,889,100 million

2014 – Nick Gordon (shortstop) – Selected fifth overall out of high school. The son of Tom “Flash” Gordon is in his fifth season of pro ball and was just promoted to AAA Rochester after hitting .333 in AA Chattanooga with 7 stolen bases, 10 doubles and 5 homers in 162 at bats. I would expect to see him put on a Minnesota Twins uniform at some point this season. In my opinion with Jorge Polanco suspended and the team hitting poorly why not bring Gordon up and see if he can provided a spark? Signing bonus – $3.851 million

2013 – Kohl Stewart (RHP) – Selected fourth overall out of high school. Finished the 2017 season in AA Chattanooga and is calling it home again this season. Has a 3-1 record but sports a 4.70 ERA with 36 strikeouts and 41 hits in 38.1 innings. Injuries has also plagued Stewart in his career. He is going to need a breakout season real soon…. Signing Bonus – $4.544 million

2012 – Byron Buxton (outfielder) – Selected second overall out of high school and has been with the Twins off and on since his big league debut in June of 2015. Great outfielder with speed to burn but hitting has been sub par. For a second overall pick you have to consider him “disappointing” so far. Signing bonus – $6 million

2012 – Jose Berrios (RHP) – Selected 32nd overall out of high school in Puerto Rico and debuted with Minnesota in 2016. Berrios is having a great season in 2018 with the Twins. Looks to be the ace the Twins hoped he would be. Signing bonus – $1.55 million

2012 – Luke Bard – (RHP) – Selected 42nd overall out of college and has had some injury issues including TJ surgery that caused him to miss all of 2014. Selected by the Angels as a Rule 5 selection last November and pitched 11.2 innings with 13 strikeouts in the bigs but was returned to Minnesota in late April and is pitching in AAA Rochester and I would not be shocked to see him at least get a cup of coffee with the Twins in 2018. Signing bonus – $1.227 million

2011 – Levi Michael – (shortstop) – Selected 30th overall out of college and was released by Minnesota after the 2017 season and currently playing AA ball in the New York Mets system. Signing bonus – $1.175 million

2011 – Travis Harrison – (Third Baseman) Selected 50th overall out of high school and released by Minnesota after the 2017 season and currently playing in an Independent league. Signing bonus – $1.050 million

2011 – Hudson Boyd (RHP) Selected 55th overall out of a Ft. Myers high school and signed for one million dollars and was released by Minnesota in 2014. Boyd had many issues including his weight, booze, and attitude. A major flop! Signing bonus – $1 million

2010 – Alex Wimmers (RHP) – Selected 21st overall out of college. Pitched in a total of 24.2 innings for the Twins between 2016 and 2017 and posted a 1-3 record with a 4.38 ERA but those 19 walks were horrific and he is now in the Marlins system where at last look he had a 9.82 ERA. Signing bonus – $1.332 million

2009 – Kyle Gibson (RHP) – Selected 22nd overall out of college. Debuted with Minnesota in 2013 and has been in the starting rotation since 2014. Signing bonus – $1.8 million

2009 – Matt Bashore (LHP) – Selected 46th overall out of college. Missed all of 2010 with TJ surgery and released by the Twins after the 2011 season. Bashore pitched a total of 18.2 innings in the Twins minor league system before the organization gave up on him and out of baseball after the 2012 season. Signing bonus – $751,500

2008 – Aaron Hicks (outfielder) – Selected 14th overall out of high school and opened the season in Minnesota as the starting center fielder in 2013. Hitting woes caused the Twins to give-up on Hicks and trade him to the New York Yankees for catcher John Ryan Murphy in November 2015 but he too turned out to be a dud and was sent packing to Arizona. Hick is still playing with the Yankees in a semi-regular role. Signing bonus – $1.78 million

2008 – Carlos Gutierrez (RHP) – Selected 27th selection overall out of college and advanced as high as AAA in the Twins system before he moved on to the Cubs in 2013 but left pro ball after that season. Signing bonus – $1,290 million

2008 – Shooter Hunt (RHP) – Selected with the 31st pick overall out of college and didn’t get higher than high A in Ft. Myers before moving on to a different career after the 2011 season. Signing bonus – $1.080 million

Continue reading Not all first round picks are born to be stars

So how good will the Twins be in 2018?

Twins Opening Day in 2018 is just a couple of days away as the Minnesota Twins prepare to open season number 58 and take on the Baltimore Orioles. I can’t wait for the Twins and all the other teams to start playing baseball games that count for something. 

Spring Training is fun after a long and cold off-season but the exhibition games start to wear on you and I am tired of hearing about all the complaining about the free agents and their problems getting contracts.

I think the Twins made some nice off-season moves that look good on paper but now we have to see if those moves translate into more wins, after all, wins are the only way to measure if the team is better than it was last year. You can say whatever you want but the bottom line is all about wins and losses and how deep the team goes in the playoffs.

The Twins have already suffered a couple set-backs and the season hasn’t even started. Their starting pitcher Ervin Santana, a 16 game winner in 2017 had surgery on a finger on his pitching hand and is out until probably sometime in May. Recently MLB suspended starting shortstop Jorge Polanco for 80 games after he tested positive for Stanozolol. Not exactly how the Minnesota Twins would like to start 2018 but it is what it is and we will have to see if Paul Molitor can get his team off to a good start, something I thing that is crucial to a young team.

I have put together a Twins Opening Day quiz to test your knowledge of the past 57 Opening Days so go ahead and give it a try over at my Twins Trivia Questions page and see how you do.

Jorge Polanco suspended for 80 games

MLB announced yesterday that Minnesota Twins shortstop Jorge Polanco has received an 80-game suspension from Major League Baseball for a performance-enhancing substance. Polanco tested positive for Stanozolol, per MLB, which is a violation of the league’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. His suspension will begin at the start of the regular season.

“We were disappointed to learn of the suspension of Jorge Polanco for violating Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program,” the Twins said in a statement. “We fully support Major League Baseball’s policy and its efforts to eliminate performance-enhancing substances from our game. Per the protocol outlined in the Joint Drug Program, the Minnesota Twins will not comment further on this matter.”

“Today, I have regretfully accepted my 80-game suspension for testing positive for Stanozolol,” Polanco said in a statement. “To be clear, I did not intentionally consume this steroid. I now know, however, that my intention alone is not a good enough excuse, and I will pay the price for my error in judgment. The substance that I requested from my athletic trainer in the Dominican Republic and consented to take was a combination of
vitamin B12 and an iron supplement, something that is not unusual or illegal for professional athletes to take. Unfortunately, what I was given was not that supplement, and I take full responsibility for what is in my body.”

Another March and more bad news for the Minnesota Twins. Polanco came on strong at the tail-end of last season and the Twins will miss him for a variety of reasons. You hate to lose a middle-infielder because of the impact it has on your double-play partner and how cut-offs are handled. Players learn each others habits, the sound of their voice, etc. and losing Polanco will hurt the Twins defense. 

The other problem with losing Polanco is the impact it will have on Miguel Sano who is facing his own possible suspension from MLB for some legal issues. Sano and Polanco go back a long ways and have been almost like family to each other since they were 12 years old. If you watch Sano and Polanco you will almost always find them together and in BP most days they are in the same group and often have their own home run derby. Not having Polanco in the clubhouse for 80 games could hurt Miguel Sano’s performance this season. Hopefully that will not be the case.

 

According to ELIAS – Jorge Polanco

30 RBIs in 30 games for Polanco

Jorge Polanco

Jorge Polanco’s two-run single in the top of the ninth inning turned a 2-2 tie into a 4-2 lead in the Twins’ win over the Royals. Polanco has driven in 30 runs over his last 30 games dating back to August 7, the most for any Twins player since that date. The only other players with 30 or more RBIs since August 7 are Giancarlo Stanton (33), Anthony Rizzo (32) and Manny Machado (30).

According to ELIAS – Twins crush Kansas City Royals 17-0

Twins take turns battering Royals

The top half of the Twins’ lineup struck early and often in Minnesota’s 17–0 victory over the Royals. The first five batters in the Twins lineup––Brian Dozier, Joe Mauer, Byron Buxton, Jorge Polanco, and Eduardo Escobar––each finished with multiple runs scored and multiple runs batted in. It is the second time this season that five or more players did that in a game for the Twins; six players produced at least two runs and two RBIs for Minnesota on June 13 versus the Mariners. No other team in the majors has had even one game of that kind since the start of last season.

Big night for Escobar

Eduardo Escobar

Eduardo Escobar did the most damage for the Twins, driving in six runs with a triple and pair of home runs. Escobar’s 11 total bases were more than the Royals compiled as a team (seven). Escobar became the third Twins player to total more than 10 bases in a game this season, joining Eddie Rosario (13 total bases on June 13) and Byron Buxton (13 on August 27). Two other teams this season have had at least three games in which a player finished with more than 10 bases. Five Nationals players have had such a game this season (Bryce Harper, Anthony Rendon, Jayson Werth, Michael Taylor, Ryan Zimmerman), while the Braves have had three such games (two by Freddie Freeman, one by Matt Kemp).

Historic score for Minnesota

The 17 runs scored by the Twins on Saturday are the most by any major-league team in a shutout victory this season. Saturday’s win also marked the first time in Twins/Senators franchise history that the team scored at least 17 runs in a game while keeping its opponent off the scoreboard––an impressive feat considering the franchise has posted more than 1100 shutout wins in its 117 seasons.

While 17–0 looks more like the final score of an NFL game, consider that the Chiefs have never scored fewer than 10 points in any of their 12 matchups against the Vikings. And only one of the Vikings’ 901 games––including the regular season and postseason––ended 17–0. Minnesota defeated Chicago by that score on November 3, 1974.