A look at Aaron Slegers Spot Start for the Minnesota Twins
.@Twins fans (including his parents!) gave @aslegers a big ovation after his MLB debut pic.twitter.com/9wrh8GmcnB
— Bally Sports North (@BallySportsNOR) August 18, 2017
Evaluation
What was extremely impressive throughout the game was that no matter the situation, Slegers really did not lose his composure or show any visible anxiety in tough situations.
His only real “slip” was the fourth inning after the Jay Bruce home run and Edwin Encarnacion walk when his arm slot was inconsistent, but after a quick talk with his catcher, he got right on track, finished the inning, and had one of most impressive innings of his night in the fifth inning.
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Slegers kept his velocity throughout the game as well, pounding the zone with fastballs right around 90 MPH all game long. He left the game with just 82 pitches thrown, which is incredible efficiency. He threw his change and his fastball both incredibly well, though his slider was effective much more to lefties than righties on the day, and much more the traditional slider low in the zone than his sweeping slider that he sometimes employs against lefties.
The Fox Sports North broadcast had multiple views of Slegers’ landing spot on the night, which further indicated what was known about Slegers coming into the game about his extreme consistency in his motion. He did so well throwing consistent with his velocity, rarely reaching back for his top end velocity, but when he did such, doing so very effectively.
Sadly, an error by Max Kepler allowed a run to come in during the relief efforts by Trevor Hildenberger, which meant that Slegers did not get a win in his excellent effort, though his efforts allowed the Twins to take a lead that they’d end up getting back in the bottom of the inning and then adding one more insurance run to come away with the 4-2 victory, ending the Indians’ 10-game winning streak at Target Field.