Tagged: Scott Baker

January 2, 2010

All-Decade Team: Pitchers

The infielders and outfielders are wrapped up, and now is the final group, the pitchers. Over the past ten years there have been many pitchers who have gone through the bullpen and rotation, but there were definitely a few who stuck out as potential pitchers of the decade for the Minnesota Twins.

In this final section of the All-Decade Team, the best three starters, the best bullpen arm, and the best closer of the last ten years is unveiled.

Starters

Who pitched: Brad Radke, Joe Mays, Mark Redman, Eric Milton, Sean Bergman, Kyle Lohse, Rick Reed, Johan Santana, Kenny Rogers, Carlos Silva, Francisco Liriano, Boof Bonser, Scott Baker, Matt Garza, Kevin Slowey, Nick Blackburn, Glen Perkins, Ramon Ortiz, Livan Hernandez, Carl Pavano

	Seth Stohs	John Bonnes	Nick Nelson	Michael Rand	Alex
Starter #1	Johan Santana	Johan Santana	Johan Santana	Johan Santana	Johan Santana

Johan Santana is an obvious unanimous selection as one of the three best starters of the decade. Santana pitched for the Twins in eight seasons during the decade, and started at least 14 games in six of them.

In his time with the Twins, Santana posted a record of 93-44 to go along with a 3.22 ERA and a total of 1,381 strikeouts. Santana appeared on five Cy Young ballots in his tenure with the Twins, winning the award in 2004 and 2006. The lefty made three All-Star Games, won the pitcher’s Triple Crown in 2006, won the Warren Spahn award twice, and won the Gold Glove award in 2007.

	Seth Stohs	John Bonnes	Nick Nelson	Michael Rand	Alex
Starter #2	Brad Radke	Brad Radke	Brad Radke	Brad Radke	Brad Radke

Brad Radke was also a unanimous selection after pitching for the Minnesota Twins for his entire career. Radke began with the team in Minneapolis in 1995, and played for the Twins through 2006.
In his tenure with the Twins, Radke went 148-139 with a 4.22 ERA and 1,467 strikeouts. Radke pitched for the team for seven seasons during the decade, and pitched in the postseason during four of those years. The decade ended on a strong note for the retiree as the team inducted him into their Hall of Fame during the 2009 season.

	Seth Stohs	John Bonnes	Nick Nelson	Michael Rand	Alex
Starter #3	Scott Baker	Scott Baker	Francisco Liriano	Scott Baker	Scott Baker

Scott Baker began his career with the Minnesota Twins during the 2005 season, and pitched for five seasons during the decade.
In the past five seasons, Baker has posted a 43-33 record to go along with a 4.27 ERA and 499 strikeouts. His greatest feat of the decade was his near no-hitter against the Kansas City Royals in 2007 when he came two outs from completing the feat.
BullpenWho pitched: Juan Rincon, Eddie Guardado, LaTroy Hawkins, Pat Neshek, Joe Nathan, Matt Guerrier, Jesse Crain, J.C. Romero, Grant Balfour, Jose Mijares, Jon Rauch, Tony Fiore, J.D. Durbin, Willie Eyre, Dennys Reyes, Craig Breslow, Boof Bonser

	Seth Stohs	John Bonnes	Nick Nelson	Michael Rand	Alex
Reliever	Jesse Crain	LaTroy Hawkins	LaTroy Hawkins	Juan Rincon	Jesse Crain

No clear winner emerged from the reliever section as both Jesse Crain and LaTroy Hawkins received two votes apiece. Hawkins pitched for the Twins for nine seasons, and four of them came during the decade. Meanwhile, Crain has pitched for the Twins for six seasons, all coming in the past 10 years.
Hawkins’ best seasons were during the decade as he posted ERAs of 3.39, 5.96, 2.13, and 1.86. Hawkins hadn’t had an ERA below 5.25 in the previous five seasons with the team. In his final seasons with the organization, Hawkins saved a total of 44 games before leaving for Chicago.
Crain began his career in 2004, and has a combined ERA of 3.50 with the Twins. In his first two seasons, Crain posted ERAs of 2.00 and 2.71. Those were followed by ERAs of 3.52, 5.51 and 4.70. Crain has pitched in 314 innings for the Twins and has two total saves.

	Seth Stohs	John Bonnes	Nick Nelson	Michael Rand	Alex
Closer	Joe Nathan	Joe Nathan	Joe Nathan	Joe Nathan	Joe Nathan

Joe Nathan was the obvious selection for the closer of the decade. After coming to Minnesota from the San Francisco Giants in 2004, Nathan was converted to a closer and his career officially took off. He has spent six seasons with the Twins, and has become a perennial All-Star closer.
In six seasons with the Twins, Nathan has posted a 1.82 ERA in 412 appearances. The closer has 246 saves, just eight shy of the team record. In addition, Nathan has struck out 518 hitters in his tenure with the organization. Nathan has been selected to the All-Star Game four times, and holds the Minnesota Twins single season saves record with 47.

September 6, 2009

Becoming the Ace

Through the first two months of the season, Scott Baker’s performances only led to questions about his newly signed 4-year, $15.25 million contract inked in the off-season. Three months later, the pitcher that earned the deal with a tremendous 2008 season is beginning to reappear.

With his most recent one run, six inning performance in Cleveland, Baker moved to 13-7 on the season with an ERA of 4.34 – a decent mark considering the rough start to the season back in April.

After three starts and the first month of the season, Baker was 0-3 with a 9.82 ERA. The right-handed Baker lasted only 14.2 innings over the course of those three starts and hitters hit a combined .328 against him.

May was better for Baker, but in six starts in the season’s second month, he posted an ERA of 4.97, and his cumulative ERA stood at 6.38. After nine starts, Baker was still searching for an answer, and nearing the end of the line and staring the bullpen in the face, Baker finally changed for the better.

In the three months since Baker neared a move to the bullpen, he has posted a solid 3.42 ERA. The numbers date back to June 1, and span a total of 18 starts. Take out one poor outing against the New York Yankees on July 7 (3 innings, 5 runs), and Baker has posted a 3.11 ERA over the past three months.

Since the All-Star Break, Baker has been even more impressive. He has went 6-0 over the course of ten starts while posting a 2.64 ERA and an opponents batting average of .218 in the second half. Baker has not lost in his last 11 starts, and is 7-0 with a 3.04 ERA in that span.

A poor start to the season raised eyebrows and questions about Baker’s future. The three months since have made Baker’s off-season extension look like a brilliant move. Baker could be with the organization through 2013, and if his recent ways are a preview of the future, the Twins might indeed have an ace in the rotation.

July 5, 2009

On Pace: Pitchers

Several Minnesota hitters find themselves on pace for career highs, and the culmination of some good offense early on has the team on pace to hit the most homeruns as a club in quite some time.�

The projections carry over to the pitchers side where some starters are having career years and where the suddenly sharp bullpen is putting up some solid numbers.�

** Francisco Liriano is on pace for a record of just 8-16. He has recently begun to turn things around, so the obvious hope is that the loss total doesn’t reach that point. Liriano is projected to strike out 160 hitters in a total of 178 innings pitched.

** Scott Baker missed some time due to injury, and got off to a slow start which has altered his projections. He hopes to continue his recent string of strong outings, but is currently on pace for a 12-12 record�with a total of 148 strikeouts in a career high 184 innings pitched.

** Nick Blackburn is on pace for a solid 3.10 ERA, but due to low run support midway through the season is projected for only a 12-8 record. The second-year pro is however on pace to pitch 4 complete games in an astounding 214 innings.

** Glen Perkins missed nearly a month, but with the exception of a few starts has been solid. The lefty is on pace to go 8-8 with a 4.38 ERA in only 148 innings of work.

** Kevin Slowey is on pace for an amazing 20-6 record in 180 innings of work. Due to two consecutive poor outings, Slowey is on pace for a 4.86 ERA. A few other numbers that stick out are his projections for strikeouts and walks. Slowey is on pace to sit down 150 hitters and walk just 30.

** Anthony Swarzak has only pitched in a few games, but has been recalled and is on pace to go 4-4 with a 3.90 ERA in a total of 54 innings. Time in the bullpen however could alter his projections.

** Joe Nathan is on pace for 42 saves and a solid 1.39 ERA. Considered on of the league’s best, Nathan is also on pace to strike out 82 hitters in only 64 innings of work.

** Matt Guerrier is on pace to rebound from a poor ’08 season with a 2.65 ERA. Guerrier is also projected to to appear in nearly half of the team’s games with 80 appearances. In one of the major stats for relievers, holds, Guerrier is on pace to finish near the top with 32.

** Jose Mijares, a year after posting a sub-1.00 ERA, is on pace for a very solid 2.16 ERA in 58 appearances. The lefty is also on pace to pitch a total of 50 innings and collect 22 holds.

** R.A. Dickey is on pace to post a 2.96 ERA in a total of 50 appearances and 96 innings. The long reliever is also projected to strike out 66 hitters.

No longer with the organization, Luis Ayala was excluded from the list. Phillip Humber, Jesse Crain, and Sean Henn were not included due to their demotions. Meanwhile major leaguers Brian Duensing and Bobby Keppel did not have�sufficient�stats for accurate projections.