Should Minnesota Twins Protect Right-Handed Pitching Prospect John Klein From Rule 5 Draft?

[Dman]

I guess for those that don't want to protect Klein they must think there is no reason to protect Prielipp?  Preilipps WHIP and ERA are both Higher than Kleins and they pitched at the same level AA most of the year.  Sure Kleins numbers fell off at the end of a long season as he moved up to tougher level AAA.  Cut the guy some slack.

Klein is exactly the kind of arm you take a chance on in Rule V.  Big Body, Big fastball and looks like he could be a really good pen arm for sure if he can't handle starting.  He'd be on my list to protect.  We'll see what the Twins do.  

[Doctor Wu]

18 hours ago, FlyingFinn said:

If a pitcher gets drafted by the right team (a team that has no chance to make it to the playoffs), they are willing to have that pitcher take a spot in their bullpen all year. Think Tyler Wells when the Orioles were bad.

As far as pitchers with bad control changing things (not Rule 5 related), think about Cano. Went to the Orioles, they changed his arm angle, and he's had some decent years now.

Good point, I think any pitchers with potential, even ones with control issues, you might want to keep. Pitchers are usually the first ones picked in this draft, but I'm not sure that Klein will be a real target for other teams. But, year in and year out, it seems like we are always looking for more arms, so if the choice is Klein or a position player, I'd opt to keep the pitcher. 

[TwinsDr2021]

8 hours ago, Dman said:

I guess for those that don't want to protect Klein they must think there is no reason to protect Prielipp?  Preilipps WHIP and ERA are both Higher than Kleins and they pitched at the same level AA most of the year.  Sure Kleins numbers fell off at the end of a long season as he moved up to tougher level AAA.  Cut the guy some slack.

Klein is exactly the kind of arm you take a chance on in Rule V.  Big Body, Big fastball and looks like he could be a really good pen arm for sure if he can't handle starting.  He'd be on my list to protect.  We'll see what the Twins do.  

Isn't Klein one of the guys the Twins decided was the new way to develop pitchers, keep them protected in short outings more often? So IMO it is not surprise his numbers should be pretty f'n good?

But IMO the protecting or not protecting of Klein isn't really the issue, it more how poor of roster construction this FO has done.  From a really quick look around the minor leagues, it seems to be abundant with John Klein types, big body, throws fairly fast (94-96), old 23 to young 25 year old relief type pitchers. If the Twins lose Klein to the rule 5, they should have more than a few guys in the minors that can be the next Klein. (Now if you tell him he throw 97-99 and is still a bit wild, I would be saying you have to protect him. )

With that said, with the current 40 man, I would protect him, why the hell not, I mean like 30% of it should be cleared out anyway. 

 

[Dman]

1 hour ago, TwinsDr2021 said:

Isn't Klein one of the guys the Twins decided was the new way to develop pitchers, keep them protected in short outings more often? So IMO it is not surprise his numbers should be pretty f'n good?

But IMO the protecting or not protecting of Klein isn't really the issue, it more how poor of roster construction this FO has done.  From a really quick look around the minor leagues, it seems to be abundant with John Klein types, big body, throws fairly fast (94-96), old 23 to young 25 year old relief type pitchers. If the Twins lose Klein to the rule 5, they should have more than a few guys in the minors that can be the next Klein. (Now if you tell him he throw 97-99 and is still a bit wild, I would be saying you have to protect him. )

With that said, with the current 40 man, I would protect him, why the hell not, I mean like 30% of it should be cleared out anyway. 

 

I don't completely disagree.  There are lot's of guys that throw 94-95 and have good frames.  Still I don't think many of them had the season Klein did.  For reference just look back at the Twins Daily article for best pitcher in 2025.  Klein is number 2 (If not for Dasan HIll he would have been number one).  If you are not protecting him why protect Rojas or Morris or Culpepper or Preilipp?  He pitched better than all of them.  Why would his projection be less than those other arms when he has better stats over all?  That's the question I have for those that say he shouldn't be added.

He has some warts in his profile as he is primarily a fly ball pitcher and I have noticed the last two seasons when his arms tires later in the year he tends to get pounded.  He might not make it as a starter, but could be a good pen arm as a floor. Still there's a lot of potential there.  They have developed a guy that wasn't even drafted into one the of the best pitcher's in their system.  I don't think they will want to take a chance on Oakland or Tampa turning him into a viable starter via Rule V.

 

[tony&rodney]

5 hours ago, Dman said:

Why would his projection be less than those other arms when he has better stats over all?  That's the question I have for those that say he shouldn't be added.

 

That is a legitimate question. It mostly comes down to stuff. A major determination of whether to add someone to the 40 person roster is whether it seems likely that another team might poach them in the Rule 5 draft. Those chosen are almost always big arms. We can't know how other teams view Klein. He doesn't seem to fit the profile of arms taken in the recent past. The Twins took a guy last year and gave him quite a bit of run before returning him to the Phillies. It comes down to choices. How many open spots will there be for players on the edge of protecting or leaving off the list?

I see your reasoning about his talent relative to the others expected to be protected but I also see the argument that PatfFund (did I get that correct) put forth. I watch a ton of minor league games and only saw Klein a couple of times, which wasn't enough to make a decision either way.

[jorgenswest]

I dont think any of the position players are really part of the discussion. Adding Klein is adding someone they want to be on the 40 all season. There will be a few roster management spots that will rotate through DFA’s players. So maybe 38. How many pitchers should be part of that 38? How many do they have that need that full year 40 spot? How may relievers will they add?

Lopez, Ryan, Ober, Matthews, Festa, Woods Richardson, Abel, Bradley, Topa, Sands, Funderburk, Adams, Ohl, Lawyerson and Raya are on the 40. That is already 15 that they reasonably should consider keeping on the 40. They may not keep Topa or Adams but I think that will be to create space for reliever signings. If any of the 15 are removed they are a much easier pick up than a rule 5. They will add Morris, Priellipp and Rojas. We are at 18. Will they add any free agent relievers? Will there be pitcher available with their early rule 5 pick that are more ready to help or have more upside than Klein? Does Klein have more upside than Culpepper or Olivares who are in the same spot? Klein was used in a different role last year. His more frequent 3-4 inning  often from the bullpen use led to improved strike out rate. Is his improved strike out rate a result of improved skill or is his change in use a factor.

They need to exercise caution with each add to the 40. If they need to DFA them later they risk losing them with fewer restrictions than a rule 5 pick up. I would be surprised if a Twins player is selected in the rule 5 and retained. I think there are several organizations with a lot more depth.

 

[Dman]

9 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

That is a legitimate question. It mostly comes down to stuff. A major determination of whether to add someone to the 40 person roster is whether it seems likely that another team might poach them in the Rule 5 draft. Those chosen are almost always big arms. We can't know how other teams view Klein. He doesn't seem to fit the profile of arms taken in the recent past. The Twins took a guy last year and gave him quite a bit of run before returning him to the Phillies. It comes down to choices. How many open spots will there be for players on the edge of protecting or leaving off the list?

I see your reasoning about his talent relative to the others expected to be protected but I also see the argument that PatfFund (did I get that correct) put forth. I watch a ton of minor league games and only saw Klein a couple of times, which wasn't enough to make a decision either way.

Yeah I get that, but for not having the "stuff"  he sure did better than those with supposedly better stuff.  I only watched him twice and unfortunately those were not good games for him.  He got hit hard and gave up home run type contact to several batters in a row in one of the games I watched him.  

Still he was very good early in the year and his over all stats as stated had him at the top of Twins prospects this year.  Given what I saw in very small sample size I have trouble seeing him as a starter.  Still he's been getting K's and keeping runs off the board for the most part.  Seems like something has improved. I guess we'll see what the Twins think.  They have a lot of young arms maybe they just take the risk. If I were another team I still think he'd be a guy I'd target just like the Twins targeted the Phillies pitcher although I think Klein has better control than Castellano.

[dxpavelka]

So you're telling me that AFTER they blew up their bullpen there were still 10 teams worse than them?  As I've maintained, a bullpen should be the easiest part of a team to rebuild.  Many teams rebuild at least half their bullpen every off-season.  The sky might NOT be falling.