First Pitch: 3:10 PM CDT
TV: Fox Sports North
Radio: Twins Radio Network
Know Thine Enemy: Brew Crew Ball
Efficiency is the name of the game for Slowey. Strikeouts and walks are okay, but he's also giving up a lot of hits. And in a very telling analysis, he's struggling to to be aggressive and be effective at the same time.
Part of the problem is that he's missing his spots, and it's not always down...which isn't good for a guy who's pretty solidly already a fly ball pitcher. And while his fastball hasn't actually been too bad, none of his set-up pitches seem to be working. Slowey's swinging strike percentage (5.8%) is too low for a guy with his tendencies.
Kevin has a great chance to get healthy today against a struggling Milwaukee crew. He needs to be aggressive today though--he's lasted more than 5.2 innings just once this season through eight starts.
When I talked to Brew Crew Ball's Kyle yesterday, here's what he had to say about Gallardo:
Gallardo has electric stuff and could feasibly be the ace of the Brewer rotation for the next 4-5 years. With that said, his approach could use some work and as a result his pitch counts have skyrocketed and forced him out of many games early. Gallardo has thrown 100 or more pitches in eight of his nine starts but has only pitched past the sixth inning twice. His two-strike philosophy is the culprit: Once he gets two strikes on a batter, he tends to nibble and fish for swinging strikes until the count gets to 3-2.If the Twins have scouted him well, they'll be patient and make him work for strikeouts. He might strike out ten in five innings, but he also might have thrown 110 pitches by then.
He throws a low to mid-90s fastball quite a bit and an occasional changeup, but his breaking balls are both pretty damn good. Gallardo should be fun to watch today, no matter what.