First Pitch: 6:05pm CDT
TV: FS-N
Radio: Twins Radio Network
Know Thine Enemy: Let's Go Tribe!
So far this season, Masterson has flashed the potential that made him a top pitching prospect in Boston just once. It was his only start in Cleveland so far this year, and he struck out nine Rangers across six innings while not allowing a walk and just two runs. Unfortunately for the Indians, his other three appearances have been more the norm than the exception.
For Masterson to be effective, he needs to limit his walks and, when runners do get on base, strand a few more of them. He gets a lot of ground balls, but when hitters get one into the air, one of every give has left the park.
Oddly enough, Masterson has been going away from what used to be his best pitch: the slider. He's throwing his fastball an astonishing 85% of the time currently, which probably says more about how comfortable he's been than anything else. His slider has only been thrown on 13% of his pitches. The changeup has been nothing more than a token show pitch.
If I'm the Twins? I'm patient, and I sit on a fastball that I like
Manship made five starts and six relief appearances for the Twins in 2009, and gets his first chance with the big league club today, albeit under unfortunate circumstances. In four starts with Rochester this season he's had a fair amount of success, with the only real red flag being the number of home runs given up.
Last year with the Twins, in 31.2 innings, Manship struggled with his control. He walked too many hitters without having the strikeout numbers to back it up, and in general his stuff isn't good enough for him to survive by duplicating those numbers. Hitters weren't chasing pitches out of the zone, and he wasn't getting many swings and misses. To be successful this time around, he'll have to use those breaking balls to (hopefully) get a few more ground balls. He can't be afraid of contact, either. He'll need contact to get outs.
Lineups after the jump.