Of his three starts (in the majors), this was by far Trevor Bauer’s best start of the year. His command was on and off;  in his 6.1 innings start he had eight 3-2 counts. However, he threw quality strikes when he needed to and subsequently got outs. He threw a lot of pitches up in the zone, but he also threw a lot of pitches down in the zone, which were strikes. He’s still consumed with throwing the “perfect” pitch. The perfect pitch is something out of the strike zone, usually low and away, where he hopes the batter will swing and miss. The reason why this was his best start of the year is he pitched to contact (he was forced to because of all the 3-2 counts) and got a lot of outs. This was a great step forward. If he pitches like he did today and has a permanent position in the rotation, he’s a top 50 pitcher.

With the recent news Jarrod Dyson may receive more playing time, now is the time to get grab him if you’re looking for speed. Last year, in only 330 plate appearances, he was 30 for 35 in stolen base attempts. Also, Dyson is extremely fast – one of the five fastest players in the majors. I timed him at 3.95 seconds on a jail break to first base earlier this year.

Don’t let the Twins TV broadcasters lead you astray about how well Aaron Hicks is doing after he was moved down in the lineup. Since being removed from the leadoff spot his slash line is .226/.338/.452.

I wrote two articles yesterday at TTFB, discussing the viability of David Phelps and Travis Wood. I encourage you to check them out!