Can Royce Lewis help?

[Battle ur tail off]

 

without reading every single post I just have this to say. I saw what they did to Royce Lewis in the Arizona Fall League ok. Let me tell you that dude can play baseball straight up. I think maybe ( analytic nerds break out your spreadsheets)he played mostly centerfield...more at 3b than ss and...HE WON MVP of the league. the problem seems to be hitting left handed pitching so if you're panicked .. then there's the answer. problem is though... now the service time clock starts, and Buxton is in and out, and umm hello Josh...are you with us at all? you aint bringing Royce Lewis up to sit or platoon. Also i don't know the f**k they are doing with Jeffers when they have Astudillo. I know everyone wants to see Jeffers, Kiriloff, Larnach, Balzobic, and the equipment men from Pensacola but seriously. Astudillo and Avila should be holding down the catching for now. Having Jeffers in there every other day is like a 2016 decision.

 

Not saying he can't play. But he probably isn't ready to be the type of player they think he will be(at some point) at the major league level right now. If he was, they would have started the season with him on the roster. 

 

I agree with you 100% that if Royce comes up, he comes up and is inserted right into a starting role. My guess is we see him next year at some point during the season. 

 

 

 

[Battle ur tail off]

 

DFA Ehire 

 

Hell no. He has more than proven his worth over the years. You DFA him, he would get scooped up right away. 

[twins_89]

Since the Twins passed on making any upgrades at the trade deadline they need to bring up at least a couple of the prospects to boost the bench. So far this year the Cave, Wade, Adrianza, and Vargas group has been beyond awful. With Buxton back, I'd send down both Cave/Wade, release one of Adrianza/Vargas, and only use Gonzalez on the infield. Bring up Kirilloff and Rooker with Alex playing most days to rest Buxton/Rosario/Kepler/Sano and Brent playing against lefties (and being a right handed bench bat).

[DocBauer]

without reading every single post I just have this to say. I saw what they did to Royce Lewis in the Arizona Fall League ok. Let me tell you that dude can play baseball straight up. I think maybe ( analytic nerds break out your spreadsheets)he played mostly centerfield...more at 3b than ss and...HE WON MVP of the league. the problem seems to be hitting left handed pitching so if you're panicked .. then there's the answer. problem is though... now the service time clock starts, and Buxton is in and out, and umm hello Josh...are you with us at all? you aint bringing Royce Lewis up to sit or platoon. Also i don't know the f**k they are doing with Jeffers when they have Astudillo. I know everyone wants to see Jeffers, Kiriloff, Larnach, Balzobic, and the equipment men from Pensacola but seriously. Astudillo and Avila should be holding down the catching for now. Having Jeffers in there every other day is like a 2016 decision.

Agree on Lewis. To me, he is untouchable based on talent, potential, and his HEALTHY end to the season in the AFL. He could end up at SS or 3B and MAYBE at CF. (Betting he stays in the infield). I believe he comes up initially due to injury somewhere. I believe he plays multiple spots as a super utility player because he can.

 

Going to disagree on Jeffers. Astudillo, I believe, may not be ramped up just yet. Regardless, the Twins believe in his defense. I think their belief has been warranted from what we've seen this far. And they believe he has the ability to at least survive if not contribute with the bat.

[Crackedfungo]

 

without reading every single post I just have this to say. I saw what they did to Royce Lewis in the Arizona Fall League ok. Let me tell you that dude can play baseball straight up. I think maybe ( analytic nerds break out your spreadsheets)he played mostly centerfield...more at 3b than ss and...HE WON MVP of the league. the problem seems to be hitting left handed pitching so if you're panicked .. then there's the answer. problem is though... now the service time clock starts, and Buxton is in and out, and umm hello Josh...are you with us at all? you aint bringing Royce Lewis up to sit or platoon. Also i don't know the f**k they are doing with Jeffers when they have Astudillo. I know everyone wants to see Jeffers, Kiriloff, Larnach, Balzobic, and the equipment men from Pensacola but seriously. Astudillo and Avila should be holding down the catching for now. Having Jeffers in there every other day is like a 2016 decision.

Astudillo was an interesting sideshow one year.  He no longer merits a roster spot IMHO.  I want to see Jeffers behind Garver sooner than later.  Garver has the potential to be a one-year wonder, and he was already old.  Avila and Astudillo are only #1 and #2 catchers on a team devoid of what we have starting and coming up.

[DocBauer]

Astudillo was an interesting sideshow one year.  He no longer merits a roster spot IMHO.  I want to see Jeffers behind Garver sooner than later.  Garver has the potential to be a one-year wonder, and he was already old.  Avila and Astudillo are only #1 and #2 catchers on a team devoid of what we have starting and coming up.

Generally agree. Just my $.02 worth.

 

What Garver did at the plate in 2019 is virtually impossible to sustain. We are talking HOF all time great numbers. So regression is/was inevitable. But he does have good power. He has a great eye and a compact swing. He has hit everywhere from college, through the minors, and even his rookie season in 2018. While 2019 will probably be an outlier of a season, I fully believe his results thus far in 2020 are also a huge outlier. There are a ton of guys thus season throughout baseball that just don't have their timing and approach in sync. Garver needs to adjust as pitchers have adjusted. We may not see the real Garver until 2021. Though I hope that isn't true and he finishes strong.

 

Jeffers has impressed me despite the bat being so-so thus far. I think It's telling he was brought up instead of Telis, who has shown a good bat in AAA and has ML experience. Had it been Avilla who got hurt, I wonder if Jeffers would still have been the choice?

 

Depth is always important. Avilla is solid in many ways. And he's cheap. And he would be cheap on a re-sign. I wonder if he might be brought back next season for depth purposes? I wouldn't be opposed to it, that's for sure. And that is no knock on Jeffers at all!

 

For now, you and I are going to agree to disagree on Astudillo. I watched a lot of the games he played in 2018 and 2019. I think the guy can hit. Despite poor final numbers last season, there were stretches, when healthy, where be was putting the bat on the ball pretty well. Unfortunately, he was injured twice and could never find consistency. Behind the plate, he is nothing special to be sure. But what I've seen is a solid backstop who is "quiet" behind the plate and seems to know what he is doing. At other spots, the terms "solid" and "OK" come to mind. I find value in that if the bat can prove solid, as I expect, especially with a 26 man roster going forward in 2021 and beyond. Unfortunately, any chance to show his worth is going to probably be lost here in 2020.

[Rosterman]

I'm amazed that with a 28 man roster, not making more room for hitters. Who will be here in 2021. Adrianza? Cave? Wade? Rosario?

 

Jeffers is showing he can be ready for the majors. So much that I would consider moving Garver if he bats turns a little bit around.

 

You don't need bullpen arms sitting around. Is Smeltzer really in the plans? Poppen? What was with the addition of Minaya, except that you were adding back Pineda.

 

I'm sad that Nick Gordon wasn't available for a chance to play in the Big Leagues. But now we should be looking at Royce Lewis. Gonzales won't be back in 2021.

 

 

[Crackedfungo]

 

Generally agree. Just my $.02 worth.

What Garver did at the plate in 2019 is virtually impossible to sustain. We are talking HOF all time great numbers. So regression is/was inevitable. But he does have good power. He has a great eye and a compact swing. He has hit everywhere from college, through the minors, and even his rookie season in 2018. While 2019 will probably be an outlier of a season, I fully believe his results thus far in 2020 are also a huge outlier. There are a ton of guys thus season throughout baseball that just don't have their timing and approach in sync. Garver needs to adjust as pitchers have adjusted. We may not see the real Garver until 2021. Though I hope that isn't true and he finishes strong.

Jeffers has impressed me despite the bat being so-so thus far. I think It's telling he was brought up instead of Telis, who has shown a good bat in AAA and has ML experience. Had it been Avilla who got hurt, I wonder if Jeffers would still have been the choice?

Depth is always important. Avilla is solid in many ways. And he's cheap. And he would be cheap on a re-sign. I wonder if he might be brought back next season for depth purposes? I wouldn't be opposed to it, that's for sure. And that is no knock on Jeffers at all!

For now, you and I are going to agree to disagree on Astudillo. I watched a lot of the games he played in 2018 and 2019. I think the guy can hit. Despite poor final numbers last season, there were stretches, when healthy, where be was putting the bat on the ball pretty well. Unfortunately, he was injured twice and could never find consistency. Behind the plate, he is nothing special to be sure. But what I've seen is a solid backstop who is "quiet" behind the plate and seems to know what he is doing. At other spots, the terms "solid" and "OK" come to mind. I find value in that if the bat can prove solid, as I expect, especially with a 26 man roster going forward in 2021 and beyond. Unfortunately, any chance to show his worth is going to probably be lost here in 2020.

I do agree with you on Garver, and did not mean to knock him for what was an all-timer year at C to try to follow.  What I meant was that he is the type of player that will be challenged to come close to repeating an absolutely exceptional year.  Given his age, and wear/tear at C, I feel that he has to sustain really good versus last years exceptional performance before the wear/tear catches up to him.  I do think he will do it, but he was due for a material regression to the mean.

 

I don't have a problem with the Avilla signing at all.  It was shrewd (and cheap as you referenced).  But, like with Astudillo, I do feel that we need to avoid blocking our really talented young players with stop-gaps.  For a few reasons; we will have some roster spots to make up our mind on in the next few years, and I do feel like we need to move up the obvious ones in a hurry to reserve space for the ones that may take a few extra years like Garver to maximize value.  All the Avilla's and Astudillo's clog the system for doing so.  While I know Astudillo can play many positions and has an active bat, I would rather the Twins clear the space for others.  To that end, I want to see Rooker, Kiriloff, Larnach and Lewis early - even in utility roles this year - as there are no games in the minors.  I have the same feeling about the Cave's, Vargas', Wade - and perhaps even the Adrianza's and Gonzalez's.  I think that getting the young players some experience like Jeffers will pay great dividends down the road with these assets (either to keep or trade).  I just don't feel that we need too many role players in this unique year.  Just my opinion.

[rdehring]

Wanted to add my thoughts of Jeffers.

 

Is he ready to be playing every other day for the Twins, not really. With that said, he is doing much better than I think any of us should have expected. And is he gaining invaluable experience by being here, you betcha!

 

Will state again that like Balazovic, I really wanted to see Rortvedt getting experience by being at St. Paul. Hopefully, both of them will have a real nice stint in the Instructional League, whenever that happens.

[Channing1964]

true to all of that. It is my HO that every team needs a righty and a left handed hitting catcher on the 25 man. Its built in he cant play every day such as 2b can so that being said it is almost a true platoon position. Having two young mediocre right handed hitting catchers is scary to me. Let's face it. The Garver we saw last year and the one we have seen this year are neither one right. The truth is somewhere in the middle.

[Dman]

The timing for Lewis just doesn't feel right to me.  I believe the reports that he is doing well but at this point he would only get a couple of weeks of MLB experience before the playoffs and IMO I think he gets schooled when facing some of the best pitching in baseball for the playoffs.  Defensively he could be a difference maker as he could cover short, 3rd and center and likely be above average at all three.  I know he is getting better but I still don't trust his hit tool yet and having a black hole rally killing bat in the lineup would hurt as well.

 

As stated above if he can't adjust right away then you lose a 40 man spot and start using up option years all on a low percentage gamble.  I like the kid and he could be up with the team as early as next year but right now it doesn't feel like the right move to me.

[h2oface]

 

Also i don't know the f**k they are doing with Jeffers when they have Astudillo. I know everyone wants to see Jeffers, Kiriloff, Larnach, Balzobic, and the equipment men from Pensacola but seriously. Astudillo and Avila should be holding down the catching for now. Having Jeffers in there every other day is like a 2016 decision.

 

I totally disagree. Jeffers is there because he CAN catch the ball, which Astudillo seems to struggle with no matter where he plays on the field, and especially behind the plate. Astudillo should be offered up at the virtual gift shop as a novelty.