The Twins are a solid week in. I’ve seen all but one of the games, the one that wasn’t on TV on Saturday. To this point I’ve been pleasantly surprised with their level of play and with the energy they’ve brought to each and every game. I wonder if they’ll be able to keep this sort of pace going all summer long. With Cuddy going down it actually is going to be interesting to see Span get some burn…
Carlos Gomez is crushing. I don’t care if he’s on pace for 150+ strike-outs. He’s also on pace for something like 80 steals. I’ll take a few less walks, a few more wild swings and a lot more bases then occasional power. Don’t get me wrong I loved Tori in center but I’m starting to love Gomez in center too. Gomez is going to give whom-ever is batting behind him better pitches to see when he’s on base. Gomez is a threat to steal second no matter who is pitching, but he’s also a threat to steal second. Gomez arm is a little erratic but its so freaking strong that its at least entertaining to watch him uncork them.
Delmon Young in left field is awesome. At the plate you can tell he’s got room to grow/learn but he’s got a lot of tools to work with. Delmon has power, he’s got a pretty good eye, plus speed, and the ability to go the other way with a pitch. Delmon is a seriously well put together dude too. The Twins totally have the corners of the outfield taken care of for the next three to five years. If Go-Go ends up being as good as he has been this past week the outfield is set ofr a while.
Cuddy probably needs to learn how to get his spikes up on a close play. You’ve got to give him credit for going in hard, head-first. I just think its a silly play. Sure you could hurt yourself sliding in feet first but fingers are just so much easier to hurt. I’d like to see Cuddy get healthy and get his bat going. Right now I’m hoping he takes his time and let’s himself heal completely. The Twins are going to need Cuddy long-term not next week. I think that they have okay to good cover in Monroe/Kubel/Span.
Span’s played what two games now? I think he’s a nice player. I hope the Twins can find a way to keep him on the roster for as long as possible. Span and Gomez at the top of the order is awesome. They had two steals today. Pitchers are going to develop a nervous pitch before they even have to face Baby-Jesus and his slap it the other-way self. Span sort of over ran a ball that could have cost the Twins a run in the early innings but I think it was Crede who didn’t make a hard turn at third so it didn’t matter. Overall I think Span had a nice game today. When Span stole that base you just knew he was going to do it. Its amazing that both Span and Gomez can just take second whenever they want too. I’m still leaning towards Gomez having more star to him then Span, but I still love them both.
Brendan Harris has totally sold me on his defense. I might have comparable range to him, I’ve got cement over-shoes. Harris has a lively bat and so far I like the way he approaches each at-bat. Harris hasn’t been doing a lot of first pitch ball swinging. Harris has some ability and I hope he turns into a nice end of the order type of guy. Like I said earlier he doesn’t have great range.
Harris’ lack of range really makes me love Tolberts hot start. Guys like Tolbert, Span, Gomez can’t really be counted on for great year long runs. These guys are all rookies after all. Its cool to see a guy like Matt Tolbert making such an nice impact right out of the gates. Like Span and Gomez, Tolbert has the ability to stress the oppositions pitchers with his wheels. Tolbert has nice range in the field. While he was playing at second he ate up a sure-fire single up the gap. From SS he made the throws and got to the balls he should have. If Tolbert keeps hitting he’s going to force Grady into playing him at second, SS, or even 3rd base.
3rd base leads to Lamb. I’m not sold on Lamb. I think I like him one second and then the next second I think he’s an iffy rotational player at best. Lamb surely looks better then Punto. Punto isn’t an every day player, especially at 3rd where you need a little pop at the plate. If Lamb can establish himself at the plate a bit more then he has I can deal with him giving a few free outs to the opposition.
Justin Morneau is coming around at the plate. I think what he brings in the field is often overlooked. Morneau digs a lot of balls out of the dirt. Morneau fields the ball pretty well at first too. Its totally electric when he catches one and cleanly deposits it in the upper deck.
Baby-Jesus looks good behind the plate right now. His defense is sick as is always the case when he’s healthy. Time will tell if he can stay behind the plate, I’d rather see him at 3rd but that’s just me. Joe needs to start adding that power that he’s going to add later in his career. Joe could also work on not hitting into DP’s so damned often. I mean come on Joe is a top five catcher when you add up his defense, hitting, and base-running.
Punto hasn’t done much besides a few defensive replacement assignments. Luckily the only head-first dives into first I’ve had to watch so far are Gomez. When Gomez does it he tends to not be out by a step or two. How many times did Punto dive into first with not chance of actually being safe.
Adam Everett is a nice player. Adam is never going to hit .300 and he’s never going to steal 40 bases, doesn’t have gap power, and doesn’t seem too patient at the plate. Adam does have a killer arm, gets to the balls even deep in the hole at short, knows the game, doesn’t give away outs, and he doesn’t seem to be affraid of taking his turn at the plate. Sometimes Punto doesn’t even look like he wants to bat, which is perfect for a late inning defensive replacement.
Kubel is just starting to establish himself at the plate. Kubel’s defense isn’t bad either. I think he just might have turned the corner from that horrible injury a fwe years back. I’d love to see Kubel establish himself at the DH position with spot starts in the outfield.
Monroe is probably on his way out. Maybe there is a place at the end of the bench for him? Maybe Monroe can find a way to contribute as a pinch hitter. My guess is he’s going to want to be a little more then just that.
Loading ...
