Spreading the Spotlight: Three Great Seasons in St. Paul

The Saints pitching staff ranked third in the league according to ERA (ERA+ 113). The batters by OPS ranked in a three way tie for 4th to 6th (OPS+  103).

For much of the season we have heard great reports of their batters yet the pitchers have performed better relative to league. It could be that the pitchers are already on the 40 and we have already seen their struggles in the majors. We haven’t seen Helman or Prato or Camargo yet. That unknown might make them more intriguing than Woods-Richardson, Sands and Headrick who were also better than league average. Sands and Headrick are also 40 man considerations going the other direction.

I've been a big supporter of Jeffers for some time so I'm not the least surprised in the year he had. In fact, I'm almost a little disappointed in a couple of his numbers. Vazquez, despite a down year at the plate, is still good ar what he needs to do which is call a game, play good defense, and lead. He can also pop some XB hits here and there. Camargo is the clear #3 now and will be protected. But do they like him enough to move Vazquez and give Jeffers 60-70% of starts? (They won't do more than that). I imagine they will consider it, but indont think they are looking to move him.

Helman was invited to ST this year for a good look. But he had a bad hamstring and didn't get to play, or start the season on time. Then he looked great. Then he had a concussion. Then he looked great. Then he dislocated his shoulder and missed a couple months before finishing the season strong again. Yes, he's older and a layer bloomer. But who cares? He could be a valuable RH bat who can literally play everywhere but catcher and has pop and speed. He'll be a great candidate for a needed RH OF next year unless they make a big move for one in the offseason...which they have refused to do for years now. I think he should be protected.

I'd love to protect Prato, but I don't know how the numbers on the 40 man are going to shake out. I see him as a bit of a cross between Helman and Castro, maybe a slightly better hitter. He brings a little bit of everything to the table and combined with good defense at multiple spots, he could be a great depth piece, if nothing more. I don't know if that's enough for him to be selected in the rule 5, but it might be. You can't keep everyone, and it's going to be pretty easy to crowd the 40 man this year, but I'm going to hope he's back regardless. 

This season has shown how depth and working the margins can be so valuable. And we might need replacements for a couple guys who might not be back. Going to be an interesting offseason as they will need/want to tweak, but don't exactly need to overhaul the roster.

51 minutes ago, terrydactyls said:

If there isn't room for any of these guys on the 40-man roster, package them in a trade for a tradable draft pick.  Don't just give them away in the rule 5 draft.

Helman will be a minor league free agent. He should be looking for a non-contender.

Camargo should be added to the 40 man this winter.

I don't see Helman or Prato being added though. The Twins can probably afford to lose one (would rather not) but must not lose both. I see them as fighting for the exact same position. I like to compare Helman's injury free season from last year to Prato's season this year, basically at the same minor league levels. Helman - 512 AB's, 20 HR's, .258 batting average, .432 slugging, 40 SB's. Prato - 361 AB's, 12 HR's, .255 batting average, .435 slugging, 18 SB's. Very comparable. Making the AB's even, gets the #'s pretty close. Helman probably the better base stealer. Prato is two years younger, an advantage for him. Defensively, Helman plays everywhere except catcher. Prato does  not play CF and didn't play SS with the Saints. Very slight advantage overall to Helman for me. Castro blocks both Prato and Helman though IMO.

Is Castro going to remain the 2 war player he has shown this year for 400 PA or is he going to regress back to the replacement level player he was? A significant arbitration increase from 1.8 million is likely. If Prato is deemed capable, Castro is replaceable, especially with regression. The question would be how good of prospect or relief pitcher can you get.

3 hours ago, Eris said:

Could someone please comment on the defensive aspect of Prato and Helman’s game. Neither Gordon or Castro are above average defensively. 

Castro has been well above average defensively. He might be the best fielding utility player in baseball in 2023.

19 hours ago, Rod Carews Birthday said:

These are three solid players and I hope that they can at least get a shot at the majors.  Camargo seems like the surest bet to me, as a catcher with more than a pulse.  Helman and Prato had good seasons, but as @Dmansaid, I'm not sure where they fit on the current Twins team.  Either of them could make a lot of sense on a non-contender with lots of holes to fill, but it seems unlikely that their ceiling is high enough to get someone to take a chance on them.  It's an unfortunate conundrum.  Good players.  Not good enough to crack the current lineup, but not any substantial trade value either. 

I often wonder why so few exclusively minor league trades don’t occur more frequently. It seems logical for a “top heavy” org like the Twins to identify orgs with a weak 40-man and propose trades of prospects like Helman and Prato for low minors prospect that perhaps the Twins scouted, liked, and missed in a draft or IFA windows.

9 hours ago, bird said:

I often wonder why so few exclusively minor league trades don’t occur more frequently. It seems logical for a “top heavy” org like the Twins to identify orgs with a weak 40-man and propose trades of prospects like Helman and Prato for low minors prospect that perhaps the Twins scouted, liked, and missed in a draft or IFA windows.

They can get a similar player in the rule v draft and not give up an asset 

12 hours ago, bird said:

I often wonder why so few exclusively minor league trades don’t occur more frequently. It seems logical for a “top heavy” org like the Twins to identify orgs with a weak 40-man and propose trades of prospects like Helman and Prato for low minors prospect that perhaps the Twins scouted, liked, and missed in a draft or IFA windows.

Helman had a good season. His wRC+ in just over 100 plate appearances was 122. That ranks 108th among all AAA players with over 100 plate appearances. Most of those players are 40 man roster decisions. Prato when looking at his full season would have a combined wRC+ of around 120. I think every team has players like Helman that they really want to keep in the organization but don’t have a 40 man roster spot. Teams in need will be able to find them in minor league free agency as the Twins did Andrew Stevenson. They wouldn’t need to trade players who don’t need a 40 man spot to acquire them.