Week in Review: Something to Build On

[knothole61]

1 hour ago, DocBauer said:

THE GOOD:

Ryan remains one of the best SP in the league. (Rank them how you will).

SWR has suddenly looked like the very solid young arm we saw for most of 2024.

Festa has been a little up and down, but we've also seen a lot of his 2024 self, and the potential he's got. Even in his last loss, he settled down and pitched well. He's got a bright future.

Most of the pen is still been throwing strong. My goodness has Varland been good! Hope his arm doesn't fall off!

THE BAD:

Correa continues to flounder at the plate. I know the Twins are tight-lipped about injuries, but it appears nothing is wrong physically. He was great last season pre and post injury. I can't believe a 30yo who works hard on his game and his conditioning...and was good in 2024...has suddenly gotten old. I just can't believe his bat has truly died so soon. Hopefully he's really just having a bizarre and horrible 1st half.

Wallner has been great the past 2 seasons, and had a good start to this season, and a blistering rehab in AAA coming back from his injury. The calendar has flipped to July. Does he suddenly get his timing back?

Everything I just said about Wallner is the same with Lewis. He is SUPER talented. When does the switch turn on?

When 3 of your top 4 bats are struggling, how can your offense hope to support your staff? 

MISC:

Id love to have Bader back as a 4th-5th OF. But he's almost certainly looking for a bump in pay, and years, that I doubt the Twins could match. He's probably traded.

I'd love to have Castro back for AT LEAST one more year as he's GOOD and his ideal replacements are probably 6 months to a year away. But again, he's going to be looking for a bigger and longer deal than the Twins can probably offer. He's probably traded.

Can't believe I'm saying this, but it's possible Sabato has re-established himself as a prospect. And that's ALL he still is. But coming out of college as a sophomore in the weird 2020 season, he was considered the possibly BEST BAT OVERALL in that draft. There's been articles written about a different approach he's taken this season. Even though the IL is a hitters league, I'd still leave him down there for a few week before any kind of promotion/look-see at the ML level. But he WAS  a good prospect once upon a time for good reason. 

I'm still not sold on Julien, despite being a previous believer, until I see more consistency. But if he continues through July what he's been doing, yes you promote him. He's a 2B/1B/DH option with a potentially really good bat. You find room for that. And it might not be hard to do so if trades happen. With all due respect to what France HAS DONE with the glove and pressure moments, he's also been horrible without runners on base and isn't part of the future. But when and if Sabato is brought up, you absolutely have no idea what you have unless he plays DAILY. Julien gets to fill in at different spots and shouldn't be part of any 1B platoon.

I absolutely have NO IDEA what to think about Clemens. Generally speaking, I've been surprised that he plays pretty solid defense wherever he plays. A LH bat with power and can be solid at multiple positions is interesting. Without breaking down his entire ML career, I'm willing to bet this is the most productive he's ever been. That doesn't mean he's a KEEPER. But if Castro is gone via trade or after the season and not re-signed, there is room for at least 1 utility player in 2026. Schobel looked like he was ready to make a statement for '26, but he got injured right after he reached AAA. Culpepper and DeBarge are at least 6 ML months away. 

ASSUMING no re-signs, that means an opening for Clemens, or maybe dipping in to the system for Will Holland? Or Eales if he finishes the season strong? 

Getting WAY of topic for Nick's OP about good things. But I wasn't the one to start it, LOL.

But it's not hard to squint and see some positive outcomes for this team yet in 2025. But it's also not hard to squint at a deadline of change and future possibilities. 

Doc, interesting stuff.

Yeah, on Correa all we can do is hope and pray. Clemens has been fun but he has too many awful at bats and I think I'd let him go. Regarding Julien: I'm not a believer--bringing him back seems like a classic case of doing the same thing over and over and hoping for different results. I think I'd rather see Miranda again, a guy who shares the MLB all-time consecutive hit streak, and he tied the record off Hunter Brown! I know, maybe the pitchers have figured him out, etc., but I'd give him a shot before Julien. Finally, I'd try to find the resources to keep Bader around for a couple more years...I'm sure it can be done. 

[Patzky]

7 hours ago, knothole61 said:

Doc, interesting stuff.

Yeah, on Correa all we can do is hope and pray. Clemens has been fun but he has too many awful at bats and I think I'd let him go. Regarding Julien: I'm not a believer--bringing him back seems like a classic case of doing the same thing over and over and hoping for different results. I think I'd rather see Miranda again, a guy who shares the MLB all-time consecutive hit streak, and he tied the record off Hunter Brown! I know, maybe the pitchers have figured him out, etc., but I'd give him a shot before Julien. Finally, I'd try to find the resources to keep Bader around for a couple more years...I'm sure it can be done. 

Also a Bader backer but Miranda has been unplayable at the AAA level. Not sure how we go about fixing that but we already had Bride if you wanted an infielder like that, and he could pitch too.

[stringer bell]

8 hours ago, knothole61 said:

Doc, interesting stuff.

Yeah, on Correa all we can do is hope and pray. Clemens has been fun but he has too many awful at bats and I think I'd let him go. Regarding Julien: I'm not a believer--bringing him back seems like a classic case of doing the same thing over and over and hoping for different results. I think I'd rather see Miranda again, a guy who shares the MLB all-time consecutive hit streak, and he tied the record off Hunter Brown! I know, maybe the pitchers have figured him out, etc., but I'd give him a shot before Julien. Finally, I'd try to find the resources to keep Bader around for a couple more years...I'm sure it can be done. 

The Twins got Bader for a bargain price, much like they got Carlos Santana in 2024. He'll almost certainly decline the mutual option if his numbers hold and expect much more money (and more years) to stay. There are a lot of good things about Bader, but the club needs offense and he's over 30.

Julien has put up about league average numbers at St. Paul, with peaks and valleys. The current Twins really don't have a place for him to play unless he would take over first base where he would be pretty raw defensively. I don't think he has a role with the Twins going forward. Miranda has been a total mess at St. Paul. He's playing a fair amount of first base, but he's barely above the Mendoza Line at Triple A with minimal power. There is no way he can or should be promoted. 

[P Meyer]

16 hours ago, Patzky said:

IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SEASON? 😁

Not necessarily, but I don't know what it would hurt if he started practicing at 1B. You can DH him in the rest of a bleh year. How much worse could it impact his hitting? 

[Patzky]

51 minutes ago, P Meyer said:

Not necessarily, but I don't know what it would hurt if he started practicing at 1B. You can DH him in the rest of a bleh year. How much worse could it impact his hitting? 

It's more a reaction to his response to changing positions in 2024. 😏

[P Meyer]

5 hours ago, Patzky said:

It's more a reaction to his response to changing positions in 2024. 😏

If his issue is changing positions mid year, ok, waiting until the offseason is not the biggest issue. That said, the Twins should not prioritize playing him at 3B over Brooks Lee when Luke Keaschall comes back unless Keaschall falls back down to earth (very possible). Twins need to play the players who are producing now and create a competitive environment. 

[knothole61]

17 hours ago, stringer bell said:

The Twins got Bader for a bargain price, much like they got Carlos Santana in 2024. He'll almost certainly decline the mutual option if his numbers hold and expect much more money (and more years) to stay. There are a lot of good things about Bader, but the club needs offense and he's over 30.

Julien has put up about league average numbers at St. Paul, with peaks and valleys. The current Twins really don't have a place for him to play unless he would take over first base where he would be pretty raw defensively. I don't think he has a role with the Twins going forward. Miranda has been a total mess at St. Paul. He's playing a fair amount of first base, but he's barely above the Mendoza Line at Triple A with minimal power. There is no way he can or should be promoted. 

I just looked at Miranda's current numbers. Lord, baseball is a cruel thing?