Minnesota Twins Daily Morning Dip: Twins, Defensive Stalwarts?

Minnesota Twins Daily Dip, November 9th, 2017

Welcome to the November 9th edition of the Daily Dip, your daily piece of news and notes here on Puckett’s Pond, offseason edition. You’ll find the most recent news of the Minnesota Twins organization, stories from around the game, and links to any information you may want to know about the Minnesota Twins or baseball as we work our way through the hot stove season!

Minnesota Twins Scores, News and Notes

Arizona Fall League Update

Surprise was defeated by Glendale behind a 4-run 3rd inning, losing 6-2 on Thursday. LaMonte Wade was the only Twins hitter in Arizona to play, starting in right field, going 0-2 with a walk and a strikeout. He was also hit by a pitch. Ryan Eades allowed his first earned run of the AFL, going 1 1/3 innings, allowing a run on 3 hits and no walks, striking out two. The one run he gave up was on a home run by Dodgers prospect DJ Peters. Tyler Jay threw a scoreless inning, allowing 2 walks, striking out 2. Tom Hackimer also threw a scoreless inning, allowing 2 walks and striking out 1. Andrew Vasquez threw a scoreless inning, allowing a hit and striking out 2.

Surprise will play against Peoria at 5:30 PM Thursday.

Twins players totals in the AFL:
Chris Paul, 13 games, 53 AB, .245/.298/.358, 8 R, 3 2B, HR, 5 RBI, 3/15 BB/K
Sean Miller, 11 games, 42 AB, .310/.341/.333, 6 R, 2B, 6 RBI, 2/1 SB, 2/9 BB/K
LaMonte Wade, 17 games, 61 AB, .246/.370/.426, 8 R, 3 2B, 3B, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 1/2 SB, 9/9 BB/K
Andrew Vasquez, 9 games, 0-0, 11 1/3 IP, 0.79 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, 3/12 BB/K
Thomas Hackimer, 8 games, 0-1, 9 2/3 IP, 2.79 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 7/9 BB/K
Tyler Jay, 8 games, 0-0, 7 2/3 IP, 5.87 ERA, 1.96 WHIP, 5/9 BB/K
Ryan Eades, 9 games, 1 GS, 2-0, 11 2/3 IP, 0.77 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 3/10 BB/K

Twins looking for ace this offseason

The Twins have made overtures to big names this offseason, and many believe that the Twins will make their biggest push for an “ace” arm for the rotation.

Twins one of three teams that could offer most for Ohtani

The Twins have acquired additional international money and put themselves in the position of having of the top 3 amounts of international money available for prized Japanese free agent Shohei Otani.

Notes from around baseball

Next: Twins FA Pitching Options

One Last Thing

Tonight very feasibly will be another award for a Twins player as Wilson announces the Defensive Players of the Year. The Twins could have as many as four players get recognized in the positional awards, as 1B Joe Mauer, 2B Brian Dozier, CF Byron Buxton, and P Kyle Gibson are all highly regarded defenders. One player in the entire major leagues is chosen for each position, and while each of the four would be in consideration, most likely only Buxton will win a positional award.

However, what could be very interesting is who wins the overall Defensive Player of the Year and the Defensive Team of the Year. Buxton would have a very good argument for the individual award, likely competing against Angels shortstop Andrelton Simmons, Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts, and Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado.

The team award is what will be most intriguing for Twins fans to watch. Certainly the growth of the 2017 team over the 2016 team was based largely in significant improvements on the defensive side for the team. The Marlins are the only other team who rank in the top 10 in 4 of Fangraphs’ team rankings of defensive runs added along with the Twins. The Rays do appear in 3 and lead in 2 and the Red Sox appear in 3 and are top 3 in all three, so those teams could also be in competition, but it’s interesting to consider that the Twins are a legit contender!

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