Twins and Young Agree to Deal

Delmon young avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $5.375 million contract with the Minnesota Twins. Was this a good deal for the Twins?

Young was the 4th most valuable hitter on the Twins last year in terms of weighted on-base average, 2nd most valuable behind Joe Mauer if you leave Justin Morneau and Jim Thome off the list for only having 340 PA each. Young also hit .318/.370/.582 versus lefties last year which put him in the 92nd percentile in all of baseball.

Young’s biggest issue is his proclivity to swing at nearly every pitch. He ranked in the top 1% of all players in swing percentage last season, among company like Jeff Francoeur and Vladimir Guerrero. He still managed a .333 OBP that, while not great, still ranked in the top half of the majors last season among all players with at least 300 PA. However, with only a 4.5% walk rate (19th worst in all of baseball last year), that OBP is likely not going to improve unless Young starts taking pitches more.

At age 25, it’s not too late for him to make some significant changes to his approach at the plate. Should he become even just a little more selective this year, that $5.375 million could turn out to be a steal for the Twins.

Liriano's New Deal

It’s been a long road back from Tommy John surgery for Twins pitcher Francisco Liriano.  After a tough two years following his 2007 surgery, the lefty had a very good 2010 season going 14-10 with a 3.62 ERA and 1.263 WHIP.  A 115 ERA+ and .305 wOBA, while not anywhere near his 2006 breakout season numbers, may signify the southpaw is regaining his form.

Minnesota and Liriano avoided arbitration and agreed to terms on a one year, $4.3 million dollar deal.  The deal makes sense for the Twins, as  there is little to suggest at this point that Liriano can't build on his 2010 season.  However, given the uncertainty surrounding Tommy John recoveries, the organization won’t be held down by a lengthy or expensive contract should Liriano fail to progress or stay healthy.  On the flip side, should Liriano improve further this season, showing flashes of his 2006 self, he’ll be free to seek a big contract in free agency at the end of the season, a process the small market Twins will likely avoid.

Liriano made several adjustments last year that helped improve his overall numbers.  One in particular was his increased plate control.  In 2009, Liriano’s control wasn’t very good and as a result he was hit fairly hard up in the zone.

Francisco Liriano 2009In 2010, Liriano managed to keep the ball down a bit more, resulting in much better numbers against both lefties and righties.

Francisco Liriano 2010Liriano’s line against LHB in 2009 was .257/.323/.329.  This improved to .223/.254/.283 in 2010.  And more importantly, his .284/.368/.520 line against RHB in 2009 dropped to .263/.333/.382 in 2010.  All told, this improvement amounted to a 64 point drop in wOBA against both left handed batters and right handed batters.

If these numbers continue moving in the same direction, and he stays healthy, Francisco Liriano may find himself the object of a bidding war come next winter.