Re: Minnesota Twins 2021 Season
Posted: Wed Apr 07, 2021 2:48 pm
Btw if everyone is wondering why Sano and garver can't hit. His name is James Rowson and he was best hitting coach in the league.
Wolves fan commiserate here!
https://forum.midwestvolleyball.com/phpBB3/
https://forum.midwestvolleyball.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=171
Jester1534 wrote:FNG wrote:Camden wrote:I said this before the season, FNG, but I believe this will be Miguel Sano's last year in Minnesota regardless of how he performs. As you noted, the Twins do have other options they could put at first base and Sano hasn't played at a level worthy of his "team-friendly" contract. Either he performs like a stud and he's moved as a positive asset or he should be dumped to a team that still believes in his potential at a reasonable cost. The Twins are in win-now mode and can find plenty of ways to spend Sano's money to help make the team better.
I hate to give up on a guy with his kind of power, but his regression since his rookie year is puzzling. I thought he had an exceptional eye when he first came up...an amazing ability for a rookie to lay off the pitch off the outside corner... and combined with extraordinary power, I thought he was going to be a superstar. I gave him a pass when he began to struggle with the slider from righties, because other Twins stars (Puckett, Hunter, Cruz) have still flourished despite having challenges with good sliders (who doesn't?). But how does a guy lose the ability to hit the fastball? There has to be a story there somewhere? A hidden injury? Drugs? Personal problems? I don't know what it is, but the degree of his drop off tells me something is going on.
So if all his strike outs were pop ups to short stop would he get a longer leash?
It's been 20 at bats. Yes he's been awful so far this year but just 3 weeks ago you were saying Kepler might've lost it and he's been one of there better hitters so far this year.
Let's give it a month or two and then go from there.
jester1534 wrote:Cam I finally get the DLO stuff. Miguel Sano is the DLO of the twins. Former all star that carried a team to a wild card berth.
For record I don't put a lot of stock in 2019 stats because of Covid baseball and it being a short season. Plus the start and stop of spring training. Maybe that's a wrong opinion but it's how I feel.
FNG wrote:Jester1534 wrote:FNG wrote:Camden wrote:I said this before the season, FNG, but I believe this will be Miguel Sano's last year in Minnesota regardless of how he performs. As you noted, the Twins do have other options they could put at first base and Sano hasn't played at a level worthy of his "team-friendly" contract. Either he performs like a stud and he's moved as a positive asset or he should be dumped to a team that still believes in his potential at a reasonable cost. The Twins are in win-now mode and can find plenty of ways to spend Sano's money to help make the team better.
I hate to give up on a guy with his kind of power, but his regression since his rookie year is puzzling. I thought he had an exceptional eye when he first came up...an amazing ability for a rookie to lay off the pitch off the outside corner... and combined with extraordinary power, I thought he was going to be a superstar. I gave him a pass when he began to struggle with the slider from righties, because other Twins stars (Puckett, Hunter, Cruz) have still flourished despite having challenges with good sliders (who doesn't?). But how does a guy lose the ability to hit the fastball? There has to be a story there somewhere? A hidden injury? Drugs? Personal problems? I don't know what it is, but the degree of his drop off tells me something is going on.
So if all his strike outs were pop ups to short stop would he get a longer leash?
It's been 20 at bats. Yes he's been awful so far this year but just 3 weeks ago you were saying Kepler might've lost it and he's been one of there better hitters so far this year.
Let's give it a month or two and then go from there.
An .087 average is an .087 average, unless a lot of the outs are screaming line drives. I wouldn't care if they were strikeouts or pop ups to the shortstop. Neither is good. And the problem is that it's not just the 22 at bats in the first 6 games of the season. It's also the 186 at bats last season with a .204 BA and 90 strikeouts, and the 44 ABs in spring training (many against guys who didn't make it) with a .159 average and 21 K's. How long before Rocco decides that this is no longer a slump, but rather a guy who seems to have lost the ability to catch up to a major league fastball? 2 K's, a pop up, and a spinner off the end of the bat today, and his 5th game out of 6 with at least 2 strike outs.
As for Kepler, I haven't read this entire thread, but there must be another poster who said Kepler might've lost it. I'm OK with Kepler, just not Kepler leading off. My recollection was that I questioned (as I have for some time now) why Rocco likes a power hitter with a poor OBP leading off rather than in the middle of the lineup, and I probably followed it up with some comparisons between Arraez and Kepler's OBPs. But I've assumed all along that Max is going to be our right fielder. And it looks like Rocco has finally figured out where to put Luis and where to put Max in the line up.
Nice win today. Great to win the first two series of the season on the road.
Sano, I'm not so sure. I'm guessing Rocco keeps running him out there until Rooker is healthy or Larnach or Kiriloff show us they don't belong in the minors. If Sano doesn't get that BA above .100, that day can't ocme soon enough for me.
Camden0916 wrote:jester1534 wrote:Cam I finally get the DLO stuff. Miguel Sano is the DLO of the twins. Former all star that carried a team to a wild card berth.
For record I don't put a lot of stock in 2019 stats because of Covid baseball and it being a short season. Plus the start and stop of spring training. Maybe that's a wrong opinion but it's how I feel.
Ha! I can see that from your point of view. Like I've said before, I root for Miguel Sano and I want him to be the prospect who routinely garnered Miguel Cabrera comparisons, but too often he has spurned me with extra long slumps and empty at bats. Or for his career he'll put up a season of slugging immediately followed by a completely forgettable campaign. When he's good he's really good, but when he's bad he's equally awful. Quite the conundrum as a fan and probably even more so as an executive.
Here's a question for anyone willing to entertain it. For a team looking to make a World Series run, would you rather have the risk/reward of Sano in the lineup or someone that has a higher floor and consistency within his play?
Camden0916 wrote:Game 1: Miguel Sano batted fourth.
Game 2: Miguel Sano batted fifth.
Game 3: Miguel Sano batted fifth.
Game 4: Miguel Sano batted seventh.
Game 5: Miguel Sano batted seventh.
Game 6: Miguel Sano batted sixth.
In 2019, Sano batted fifth or sixth in Minnesota's lineup in 54 of the 99 games that he started. In 2020, Sano batted fifth or sixth in 30 of the 53 games that he started in.
I note all of this to say that Sano is being penciled in as a middle-of-the-lineup bat more than 50-percent of the games he starts. If he was strictly a seven-hole hitter, then I might be easier on him despite his inconsistent production. I just think there are better hitters that are routinely available that would provide more consistent production in those key spots in the lineup.