The Twins Offense is Sputtering—So Why is Carson McCusker Still in St. Paul?

[DJL44]

38 minutes ago, Riverbrian said:

The next project that I'm going to work on is the International Free Agent. How have the Twins done in that department? I don't know... but I'm going to compare and contrast the Twins with the other 29 clubs and look into it when I get a chance.  There are a lot of players who got paid a million and did nothing coming from IFA but there is also a high percentage of the games superstars that came from IFA. The Twins compare with the other 29 teams? I don't know but I have a suspicion that the answer will be not good.  

The Twins are awful at signing international free agent pitchers. They haven't had good IFA signings since Bill Smith signed Sano, Kepler and Polanco.

[Riverbrian]

Just now, DJL44 said:

The Twins are awful at signing international free agent pitchers. They haven't had good IFA signings since Bill Smith signed Sano, Kepler and Polanco.

I don't see anyone on the current roster. We got some hope in the minors with Emma at the top of the pile. 

We have 4 players on the roster who were signed from the international market. Castro was signed by Cleveland, Lopez Seattle, Duran Arizona and Alcala Astros. So all of them were acquired via trade or in the case of Castro... scooped up after the Tigers released him. 

[Riverbrian]

42 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

The Twins are awful at signing international free agent pitchers. They haven't had good IFA signings since Bill Smith signed Sano, Kepler and Polanco.

Loosely tying this IFA discussion to McCusker who is a completely different animal. I often think about the CBA and the role it plays in development and the big contract. 

Take Jorge Polanco for example. Jorge was 16 when he signed with the Twins. The Twins had to make a decision on him at age 23 because he was already out of options. This time line creates a boom or bust with these young IFA's. Many just ain't ready for a 26 man spot that they are forced into if you want to keep them at the age where college players are just getting drafted. Emma had to be added to the 40 man at age 21. He will be out of options before he reaches the age that Brooks Lee is right now.

You end up with superstars like Juan Soto hitting the stage at age 20... becoming a free agent at age 26 and able to sign a 15 year deal because he is still young enough. Brooks Lee coming out of college won't be eligible for free agency until he is 30 at the earliest. There will be no 15 year contract for Brooks at that age. It's no wonder that teams prefer to draft college players when they can hold them through their prime years.  

And in the case of McCusker. 1 year in the Great West league, followed by 4 years at Oklahoma State... followed by two years in the Frontier league and he finally gets started at age 25. Here he is at age 27 hitting the ball and we have folks using age against him, small sample size against him.

BTW... Another Double Last night. 😉