Mike Pelfrey is about to be lost for the season and the Twins are being quiet

This season Mike Pelfrey has been very ineffective for the Twins.  Earlier this month, the Twins attributed the reason for Pelfrey's ineffectiveness to a groin injury, and placed him on the 15-day disabled list.   One of the obvious signs of concern was that even in his rehab assignment at AAA Rochester, Pelfrey could barely touch 90 mph with his fastball, losing a good 5-6 mph from last season.  After his last start at Rochester, he complained about his shoulder and the doctors concluded that it was his elbow that was "irritated".

Between then and now, additional information has been disclosed: 

• In addition to his Tommy John Surgery 2 years ago, Pelfrey had Ulnar Nerve Transposition surgery performed by Dr. James Andrews.
• His elbow has been hurting, since Spring Training and there was "tinkling" in his fingers
• He is on his way to visit Dr Andrews and the Twins are hoping that medication will take care of it, but he might have surgery if needed "there and then".

So Mike Pelfrey is about to get under the knife early next week. This is really bad news for the Twins, because these type of surgeries take 2-3 months before someone resumes activities with that arm and 4-6 months before someone can even challenge that arm in a game.  It is not "minor" as indicated in multiple places in that piece, likely based on the Twins' acting GM words.  4 to 6 weeks from now is October and November.   This explains a lot about Pelfrey's performance, but it does not help the Twins.  At least there is potential help at AAA Rochester in Trevor May and  Alex Meyer.

Ben Revere does something he has never done before

Aaron Hicks Stops Switch Hitting

It was just announced that Aaron Hicks has decided to stop switch-hitting and will exclusively hit as a Right Hand Batter.  This decision (which he made, suggesting that he lost confidence on hitting left-handed) was bless by the Twins' manager.  Hicks was hitting 263/.417/.342 (109 OPS+) as RHB and .149/.284/.209 as LHB so far in 2014.   There might be some adjustment hitting from the right side against RHPs, however it is a worth-while decision, which might give the Twins a reliable bat (and glove, who has been named as a top 100 prospect by Baseball America in 4 different seasons, and as late as 2013) at Center Field, without having to deal with transactions involving replacement level players.

Play it again, Sam: Deduno's secret weapon

Phil Hughes is having an All-Star season and were several signs that this would be the case

Phil Hughes so far (8 starts, about a quarter of the season) has been the Minnesota Twins' best pitcher and should definitely have All-Star consideration.   In addition to his old school 4-1, 3.61 ERA, he has 7.6 K/9, 6.7 K/BB, and 1.225 WHIP.  This translates to a 41.6 PE, which is in Ace territory.  Take into consideration that he achieved that with a .326 BABIP (thanks to the Twins' playing catchers, shortstops and designated hitters at the outfield), and his numbers become ever more impressive:  Adjusted WHIP: 1.09, xPE: 46.8, FIP 2.94.  The strikeouts (20.3% K-rate and 7.6 K/9) are especially a welcome departure from the usual for the Twins.



Last season was a horrible season for Hughes, but still his K-rate was high (and has been,  it has 18.9% and 20.3%, last season and the season before last, respectively) and was going deep into games.  This game, against the eventual AL West champions, could have been a mirror image of his last appearance with the Twins:









All in all, Phil Hughes is up to a great start and it should not be all that surprising.  According to this analysis, he was a solid two to three starter last season, and based on this analysis, he was a good, but not a top 3, pitcher for the Twins to target last off-season.

Eduardo Escobar is not a stranger to success

From last winter. The Venezuelan Winter League. Good Spanish practice

Full Game Video: Game 7 of 1965 World Series Los Angeles Dodgers at Minnesota Twins

Great video of the original telecast. Full length. Plus introductory highlights of the earlier games. Great opportunity to see some of the Twins' greats play.

Exclusive: Mystery new player in the Twins' dugout

Might be the fourth shortstop, the next center fielder, or the fifteenth pitcher, but there is a new guy in the Twins' dugout (all the way to the right)