Max Kepler isn't good at anything anymore

[Heiny]

4 hours ago, wabene said:

I gotta admit I joined in on giving up on Max Kepler. If he keeps this up that $10m club option is looking pretty good. What originally looked like a team friendly deal becomes one again. Who can explain this turn around? I'm all ears.

Max has all the tools to be this very valuable player. Can he keep it up? Will he and his buddy Polo be here next year? Polo volunteering for 3rd base speaks volumes for his mindset. Kep is harder to read. 

Love to see some uptick from Kepler, and I have to admit that I have a soft spot for him.  But, I strongly believe that both Kepler and Polanco will be gone after the season because we have real cheap youth coming in to replace them both.  Polanco is injured too often and Keplers slumps and career numbers just don't correlate with the salary..  That money along with the savings from Gallo's contract will be spent in other areas if spent at all.

[Major League Ready]

24 minutes ago, Heiny said:

Love to see some uptick from Kepler, and I have to admit that I have a soft spot for him.  But, I strongly believe that both Kepler and Polanco will be gone after the season because we have real cheap youth coming in to replace them both.  Polanco is injured too often and Keplers slumps and career numbers just don't correlate with the salary..  That money along with the savings from Gallo's contract will be spent in other areas if spent at all.

We have a lot more IF depth than OF depth which makes me think Polanco is more likely than Kepler to gone.  IDK if I would make an even money bet Kepler is gone next year, especially if he plays anywhere near the way he has for the last couple months for the rest of the year.

INFers that are close / have potential to compete for 2B/3B.  (Lewis/Lee/Prato/Severino/Martin/Miranda and maybe Schobel)  There are a lot of options that could force Polanco out.  Assuming Walner becomes the one of the everyday OFers, only Larnach is really knocking at the door.

[FlyingFinn]

1 hour ago, Major League Ready said:

INFers that are close / have potential to compete for 2B/3B.  (Lewis/Lee/Prato/Severino/Martin/Miranda and maybe Schobel)  There are a lot of options that could force Polanco out.  Assuming Walner becomes the one of the everyday OFers, only Larnach is really knocking at the door.

But Lewis, Martin and Prato have all played OF as well.

[jmlease1]

It's great for Kepler to have a good July, but it doesn't erase how awful he was in May. I hope he has a hot August, but it doesn't change the fact that he still can't hit lefties.

he's more consistent defensively than a player like Wallner or Larnach and certainly looks better out there. he's far better than Gallo at this point too. And there's a reason why when the DFA conversations came up my argument was for keeping Kepler over Gallo.

be great if he finishes the season strong and keeps hitting. but it's still hard to count on him being an impact bat or expecting his old elite defense.

[Major League Ready]

30 minutes ago, FlyingFinn said:

But Lewis, Martin and Prato have all played OF as well.

True and moving Lewis primarily to the OF would really change the balance.  I hope that's the way it goes.  Martin and Prato need to prove they are candidates to be everyday players and Prato has very little experience in the OF.  That experiment needs to be validated before we can call him an OF or super utility prospect.  I was hoping they would give him more time in LF the last few weeks given our need at the ML level.

[RpR]

2 hours ago, Heiny said:

Love to see some uptick from Kepler, and I have to admit that I have a soft spot for him.  But, I strongly believe that both Kepler and Polanco will be gone after the season because we have real cheap youth coming in to replace them both.

Who?

[Major League Ready]

1 minute ago, RpR said:

Who?

Polanco has essentially already been replaced by Julien.  3B will be taken by either Lee or Lewis or Miranda could even make a comeback.  Severino / Prato and Schobel are also candidates.  Hopefully, he pulls it together this last couple of months and has trade value this off-season.  

Kepler could be replaced by a combination of Wallner / Lewis and Larnach.  It's also possible they opt out and pursue a RH free agent but the market looks lean next year.  If they put Wallner in RF, Lewis / Larnach / Prato /Kiersey jr. or Martin could be used in LF.   

[RpR]

4 minutes ago, Major League Ready said:

Polanco has essentially already been replaced by Julien.  3B will be taken by either Lee or Lewis or Miranda could even make a comeback.  Severino / Prato and Schobel are also candidates.  Hopefully, he pulls it together this last couple of months and has trade value this off-season.  

Kepler could be replaced by a combination of Wallner / Lewis and Larnach.  It's also possible they opt out and pursue a RH free agent but the market looks lean next year.  If they put Wallner in RF, Lewis / Larnach / Prato /Kiersey jr. or Martin could be used in LF.   

This all crap-shoot wishful thnking, nothing more.

Julien is a disaster waiting to happen at Second Base he will NOT be there next year, whidh is why he is pulled in a tight game when fielding screw-ups are not allowed.

The rest you mention are wishful thinking , who can be as bad in the infield as Miranda/Julien is/are.

Wallner, Larnach are shadow of the fielding skills Kepler has, again , the rest are wishful thinking and Twins management , thak God, does not let the Twins become another AAA team playing on wishful thinking, unless injury forces it

In two of the games against Columbus the Saints managed a total of 3 hits per game; one can only guess what major league hitting will do, and those getting skunked were the best on the team.

[Heiny]

37 minutes ago, RpR said:

Who?

IF - Lewis, Lee, Julian, Martin

OF -Larnach, Lewis, Rodriguez, Martin, Castro

and there is potntial for about 30M to spend on free agents.  Sorry, my crystal ball is broken, so this is just a personal opinion.

[Major League Ready]

15 minutes ago, RpR said:

This all crap-shoot wishful thnking, nothing more.

Julien is a disaster waiting to happen at Second Base he will NOT be there next year, whidh is why he is pulled in a tight game when fielding screw-ups are not allowed.

The rest you mention are wishful thinking , who can be as bad in the infield as Miranda/Julien is/are.

Wallner, Larnach are shadow of the fielding skills Kepler has, again , the rest are wishful thinking and Twins management , thak God, does not let the Twins become another AAA team playing on wishful thinking, unless injury forces it

In two of the games against Columbus the Saints managed a total of 3 hits per game; one can only guess what major league hitting will do, and those getting skunked were the best on the team.

I like guys that are good defensively too but you put an enormous amount of weight on defense.  What is the saying ... teams will find a position for guys that hit like Julien.  You have been saying this since spring training or before, yet Julien has unseated Polanco at 2B.  You said the same thing about Wallner. Yet, they are having an impact and taking over for veterans with inferior offensive skills.  I think you are ignoring what is actually happening.  The young guys have absolutely taken over this team.  The production is not even close.

[RpR]

1 minute ago, Heiny said:

IF - Lewis, Lee, Julian

OF - Lewis, Rodriguez, Martin, Castro

and there is potntial for about 30M to spend on free agents.  Sorry, my crystal ball is broken, so this is just a personal opinion.

All crap-shoot wishful thinking.

Except for Castro, who I hope they keep, a AAA team, not an improvement, so no reason to do it.

Polanco is not a great Second Baseman but far better than Julien, please keep Julien as far from the infield as possible;  Lewis ?.

Free agents,  maybe, better fielding than Kepler, not at a price the Twins can afford?

Correa is not hitting better, for a HUGE salary,  than Simmons, and Simmons was actually a better fielder.

Gallo, a fairly good fielder  but he is now batting at the level Gordon was before he was hurt.

What free agents ?

[Jocko87]

18 hours ago, Danchat said:

Alright front office, you win on this one for ignoring us fans and sticking with Max. However, their same persistence with Gallo hasn't worked.

[RpR]

2 minutes ago, Major League Ready said:

I like guys that are good defensively too but you put an enormous amount of weight on defense.  What is the saying ... teams will find a position for guys that hit like Julien.  You have been saying this since spring training or before, yet Julien has unseated Polanco at 2B.  You said the same thing about Wallner. Yet, they are having an impact and taking over for veterans with inferior offensive skills.  I think you are ignoring what is actually happening.  The young guys have absolutely taken over this team.  The production is not even close.

Except for Kepler, who is not a newbie?

Correa, Farmer, Kepler, Solano and Taylor are the only ones one could call veterans, so the youts have not taken over the team , except, the FO has team full of boys 30 years old and younger.

That is five who play all at once, often, and five of eight fielders is the majority.

[Heiny]

2 minutes ago, RpR said:

All crap-shoot wishful thinking.

Except for Castro, who I hope they keep, a AAA team, not an improvement, so no reason to do it.

Polanco is not a great Second Baseman but far better than Julien, please keep Julien as far from the infield as possible;  Lewis ?.

Free agents,  maybe, better fielding than Kepler, not at a price the Twins can afford?

Correa is not hitting better, for a HUGE salary,  than Simmons, and Simmons was actually a better fielder.

Gallo, a fairly good fielder  but he is now batting at the level Gordon was before he was hurt.

What free agents ?

I like Larnach, Taylor and Walner in the OF and Lewis, Correa(yeah, he's not hitting this year but we are committed to him for another 5 years, no trade clause) and Lee on the IF.  Need a 1B.  Gotta love Juliens' bat.  I don't think his D is as bad as you make it out to be.  Give him some time.  And I think Lewis could play an outstnding 1B if Mirranda gets it back together.  Lewis, Walner, Lee, and Miranda combined will be less costly than Kepler, much less Kepler and Polanco.  These are all good young hitters.  Why develope them if we're not gonna bring them play.

[RpR]

5 minutes ago, Heiny said:

I like Larnach, Taylor and Walner in the OF and Lewis, Correa(yeah, he's not hitting this year but we are committed to him for another 5 years, no trade clause) and Lee on the IF.  Need a 1B.  Gotta love Juliens' bat.  I don't think his D is as bad as you make it out to be.  Give him some time.  And I think Lewis could play an outstnding 1B if Mirranda gets it back together.  Lewis, Walner, Lee, and Miranda combined will be less costly than Kepler, much less Kepler and Polanco.  These are all good young hitters.  Why develope them if we're not gonna bring them play.

IF, IF, IF....

 

Thinking beyond this year, next years Spring Trianing will show, by who is there, where the Twins FO and coaches thoughts are at that point.

Including persons not on the team now.

[Heiny]

4 minutes ago, RpR said:

IF, IF, IF....

 

Thinking beyond this year, next years Spring Trianing will show, by who is there, where the Twins FO and coaches thoughts are at that point.

Including persons not on the team now.

I think we need a new "like button"  to express confusion.

[RpR]

Just now, Heiny said:

I think we need a new "like button"  to express confusion.

By person not on the team, I mean players not any where in the Twins system.

[Heiny]

2 minutes ago, RpR said:

By person not on the team, I mean players not any where in the Twins system.

So what is the IF, IF, IF?

[Rod Carews Birthday]

I was one of the biggest cheerleaders on the trade Kepler club, I believe that my wishful offer was for two bags of balls instead of just one.  If only the trade deadline were a month later. . . . sigh. . . .maybe three.  I’m happy for the production, but I certainly don’t trust it to stay. 

I’m thinking that Kepler just really wants to stay a Twin.  If his hot streak had come a little earlier, he would have likely been traded as someone would be interested.  This way, it becomes a question of whether next year’s option gets picked up.  I’m hoping not as I think there are younger players with plenty of upside to try out.  At this point Wallner gets written into the lineup in pen and Gallo is certainly gone (maybe sooner than next year????).  I haven’t given up on Larnach yet, and who knows what the future is for Lewis, Martin, Rodriguez, et al.  

I really hope he continues this hot streak through the playoffs, but I’m not holding my breath.  

[old nurse]

Kepler certainly has stepped up since this article was published. Maybe the Rocket Pig would like to continue the series.

[MGX]

1 hour ago, RpR said:

Polanco is not a great Second Baseman but far better than Julien

2023 OAA

Polanco -3 in 113 attempts

Julien -3 in 134 attempts

2022 OAA

Polanco -9 in 338 attempts

I like Polanco, but to pretend that he is a superior defensive player to Julien is just wrong.

[rwilfong86]

Kepler has looked good recently and I am glad for it, always been one of my favorites and I hope he continues to succeed.

[Major League Ready]

1 hour ago, RpR said:

Except for Kepler, who is not a newbie?

Correa, Farmer, Kepler, Solano and Taylor are the only ones one could call veterans, so the youts have not taken over the team , except, the FO has team full of boys 30 years old and younger.

That is five who play all at once, often, and five of eight fielders is the majority.

Julien, Wallner, and Lewis are all very inexperienced.  Kirilloff because of injury is still in the proving stage and Jeffers was a young player many had written off.   Actually, there are at least 8 veteran players getting a lot of playing time.  Buxton, Gallo, and Vasquez count to.  I thought we were talking about which players are performing over the past couple months.   The top 5 performing players by wRC+ are Wallner / Julien / Jeffers / Lewis and Kirilloff.  Vasquez is 17th,  Correais 15th, MAT is 14th,  Gallo 11th, Buxton 10th and Polanco 9th.  Like I said, you are just ignoring whatever does not fit your narrative.

[RpR]

1 hour ago, Heiny said:

So what is the IF, IF, IF?

IF some one can do this, that or the other thing, i.e. crap-shoot wishful thinking.

IF they are still in AAA or AA or A, they have not shown they can do this, that or the other thing, and thinking they will be the next breat thing is  hope against hope, not reality.

Twins minor league gents have been more of a lot of disappointments, rather that the future sucesses.

A few other teams have had gents in their early twenties hit the bigs running at full speed; too many here say bring up the youngsters thinking one of the Twins gents will be just that, has not happened, though there were a few false starts..

[RpR]

28 minutes ago, Major League Ready said:

 Like I said, you are just ignoring whatever does not fit your narrative.

Just as you are.

[USAFChief]

2 hours ago, MGX said:

2023 OAA

Polanco -3 in 113 attempts

Julien -3 in 134 attempts

2022 OAA

Polanco -9 in 338 attempts

I like Polanco, but to pretend that he is a superior defensive player to Julien is just wrong.

Polanco isn't a good defender, agreed. But he's orders of magnitude better than Julien. Watch one series. 

Julien has some godawful hands.

[Major League Ready]

13 hours ago, RpR said:

Just as you are.

You act as if I said bringing up AAA players is a guarantee.  That is so obviously foolish the possibility of failure does not need to be stated.  What I said was that the highest performing members of this team are still in the infancy / developmental stages of their careers.   Yet, you continue to write off the best and most sustainable source of improvement.    Had we followed your strategy this team would be horrible. 

BTW .... These examples go far beyond the twins.  The Astros / Dodgers / Rays continue to be good because they continue to add talent from their system.  Baltimore is one of the best teams in the league building almost completely from within.  The need to build from withing is something that is universally accepted across every team and the members of baseball media.  Your position is in the extreme minority.

[Doctor Wu]

As far as Polanco, he's been a very good player overall for the Twins ... when he is healthy. But that's another one of those big question marks. With so many exciting young prospects in the Twins system, plus Polanco's precarious injury history, I can't see the team making any sort of contract extension to Polanco. But Kepler? Hmm ... I was ready to say goodbye to him too, but his recent resurgence is making me reconsider. 

[Twins_Fan_in_NJ]

Would anyone be surprised if Julien and Larnach are packaged this winter for a right-handed outfielder? I don't see where Julien fits long-term - isn't Brooks going to settle at 2B? Correa at SS for next 5, potentially 9, years. Lewis at 3B. Kirilloff at 1B. I don't think Julien can play in the outfield, so where is his future?

[jorgenswest]

Just now, Twins_Fan_in_NJ said:

Would anyone be surprised if Julien and Larnach are packaged this winter for a right-handed outfielder? I don't see where Julien fits long-term - isn't Brooks going to settle at 2B? Correa at SS for next 5, potentially 9, years. Lewis at 3B. Kirilloff at 1B. I don't think Julien can play in the outfield, so where is his future?

I would be surprised. I also never worry about the long term. They have 11 non catching position roster spots and another usually around 4 more guys that will approach 100 PAs. There is plenty of space for good hitters.