Monday, July 19, 2010

Twins Post-Slama Time

After tonights 10-4 beating from Cleveland the Twins selected the contract of RHP Anthony Slama from AAA-Rochester. To make room for Slama, the Twins have sent down RHP Alex Burnett. In his last 10 games, Burnett had an 0-1 record with a 11.74 ERA (10 ER, 16 H) in 7.2 IP. He clearly had warmed out his welcome here. Meanwhile, Slama was selected to this years MLB futures game and the AAA All Star Game. In 43 appearances with Rochester, Slama had a 1.71 ERA in 52.2 IP with 23 walks and 33 strikeouts. He served as their closer and recorded 17 saves. I've been reading up on some scouting reports on Slama and from what I got is: He won't overpower you. He uses his deceptive delivery to keep hitters off balance. His fastball tops off around 91-92 and also carries a changeup and a good slider. This a needed move for the Twins. No, it doesn't solve the three holes in the starting rotation, but it solidifies a pretty good bullpen. My guess is Slama won't be used in hot spots right away but if he performs well he could be a 7th or 8th inning reliever. He is expected to be in uniform for tomorrows game against Cleveland.

NOTES
  • Since July 1st Jon Rauch has a 8.44 ERA (5.1 IP, 5 ER) in 6 games played. That also includes 10 hits and 5 walks. Time to sound an alarm?
  • Joe Mauer has 17 GIDPs this season. To compare he had 16 all of last year, 21 in 2008, and 24 in 2006.
  • Denard Span is hitting .344 at Target Field this year compared to just .198 on the road.

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