Jump to content
Twins Daily
  • Create Account

RaoulDuke

Verified Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    485

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Profiles

Minnesota Twins News, Rumors & Analysis

Minnesota Twins Videos

2026 Minnesota Twins Top Prospect Rankings

2022 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks & Signing Bonuses

Minnesota Twins Trade & Free Agent Rumors

Minnesota Twins Fan Guides & Resources

2023 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks & Signing Bonuses

The Minnesota Twins Players Project

2024 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks & Signing Bonuses

2025 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks & Signing Bonuses

2026 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks & Signing Bonuses

Forums

Blogs

Events

Store

Downloads

Gallery

Everything posted by RaoulDuke

  1. RaoulDuke
    I mean have you checked?
  2. RaoulDuke
    Mauer woulda had that =o
  3. RaoulDuke
    Baseball is finally back! Berrios eating them up w/o throwing a curve is a fun sight. Maybe Santana got a lil time in with him on his change as well it was looking even better than I remember.
  4. RaoulDuke
    There is going to be a lot of frustrated fans if Romero is in the AAA bullpen.
  5. RaoulDuke
    On the one broadcast I have caught so far the Phillies old school announcers were blasting the catcher for doing this, so I am all for it! This spring has really brought me hope for this organization and the way it has quickly modernized. Get them low strikes for Berrios curves.
  6. RaoulDuke
    I think its between Adrianza and Cave. Cave is way more promising a player but Adrianza is the only real + glove shortstop on the team. I prefer Cave but they may want the defense.
  7. RaoulDuke
    I think this team is still well below what they could be comfortably spending. I don't necessarily agree with, but I understand, the lack of big spending this off season. I think they will spend when the team shows they are ready to contend. This roster is a lot of gamble, this year is about seeing what they really have in Buxton/ Sano and seeing if they can hit on some guys like Schoop. Honestly this insurance/ super utility signing for good money gives me hope on the payroll front, they could have just gambled on things working out. If they are willing to do this deal logically/ probably/ hopefully there should be another addition to the pitching staff. Buxton - Can he stay healthy/ Hit above the mendoza line? Sano - Can he stay healthy? Not strike out half the time? Stick at 3rd for abit? Schoop - Is he the player from 17 or 18? Cron - Can he produce and not Lomo it up after a good year? Rosario - Can he find consistency and keep it up? Kepler - Can he breakout? Polanco - Can he lock down shortstop? Gonzalez provides a reliable answer to those questions when some inevitably fail.
  8. RaoulDuke
    I like this move a lot. The team as constructed is betting on a lot of bounce back and improvement, Marwin covers a ton of gaps when that plan inevitably fails somewhere. Tortuga starts in the minors, Austin gotta be gone, it comes down to Cave/ Adrianza. Cave is a much more promising player and a nice backup to Buxton but Adrianza is the only guy on the roster that can really be a plus defender at short. I prefer to keep cave but I think they will probably go with the defense. Sign Keuchel or Kimbrel and lets make a real attempt at the central!
  9. RaoulDuke
    I want to be upset about this but honestly I think this is how you maximize Romero. He throws a truly nasty fastball but his secondary stuff is never going to be top starter quality. Good starters need at minimum 3 pitches they can locate, Romero can only place his fastball. His slider flashes good but break and location are inconsistent. His 89-92 mph change is not a serviceable 3rd pitch. He does have a great fastball and if his development is focused into his slider he could be a nuclear bullpen option. I am all for making him the bullpen ace, its not ideal for a top pitching prospect but they need to maximize what they can. Romero at 110% nuclear fastball/ (worked on) slider/ occasional change is a nasty bullpen piece.
  10. RaoulDuke
    I knew this felt familiar.
  11. RaoulDuke
    The use of Garver is interesting. They must really not think he can be an everyday catcher defensively, he has got a lot of Ryan Doumit to his game. Wilson is getting run because he handles the pitchers well, we are in development days now so I don't mind them playing his toothpick bat to help the pitchers out. Watching him attempt to hit is painful but watching him work with Berrios is a thing of beauty. Grandal would be a nice addition, he can catch the main share and is a good platoon partner for Garver.
  12. RaoulDuke
    This has been a good year for most of the big prospects. Lewis is tearing it up super young even showing power earlier than expected. Kirilloff is absolutely mashing the injury didn't set him back at all. Rooker started slow but adjusted and looks like he could be ready next year. Romero was dominate for a little bit in the majors, he showed the stuff to be a top end pitcher. Gonsalvez is knocking on the door with a good AAA season. Graterol is shooting up prospect lists via his stuff, even though he has struggled with his last promotion a bit. Larnach has been great in his first exposure to pro ball. It sucks the mlb team is bad but at least the farm is well stocked. In a couple years Lewis/ Kirilloff/ Rooker could make a hell of a trio in the lineup and Berrios/ Romero aren't far from being a damn good top of the rotation. This season is lost and next year is looking likely to be a growing pains year, but if Sano and/or Buxton start to meet their potential and some of the kids arrive there is a ton of potential to be realized.
  13. RaoulDuke
    This has got to be the worst retirement party ever, hopefully he at least has a cake waiting for him in the clubhouse.
  14. RaoulDuke
    Please cut Belisle already, he is so cooked hes reached charcoal by now.
  15. RaoulDuke
    I still want to have hope for the front office, they were hired to rebuild the system (pitching especially) not win now. So far they seem to be handling the reformation of the pitching program pretty well. Last year was unexpected and pushed expectations and plans forward. Instead of a couple years to reform things its now playoffs expected. They responded with an off season that was praised by most everybody. Lynn, Morrison, Reed, Rodney all for cheapish short contracts and avoiding over paying for Darvish all seemed like decent/ good moves. Everything has blown up in their face however. 3/4 free agents have been bad, young guys expected to break out into stars are in the minors instead, solid vets have been hurt or have struggled. Maybe it was possible to see it coming with scouting but it really seems like they have got screwed on decent moves. That being said it is time for them to earn their stripes. This is the trade deadline to restock the system and the half season to evaluate prospects. The continued use of mediocre or bad vets is worrisome. Belisle/ Wilson/ Grossman are not worth anything to us at this point there is no reason to roster them, let the rookies take their lumps.
  16. RaoulDuke
    Magill must be getting the full experience of Matt Belisle's veteran savvy knowledge leadership. Eventually he will have absorbed it all and will be allowed to pitch again while Mr. Belisle can finally be put out to pasture ride off into the sunset.
  17. RaoulDuke
    "The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (Twitter links) hears that the Twins have been approached about dealing Brian Dozier and Eduardo Escobar in the same trade" https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2018/07/trade-rumblings-reactions-twins-os-fulmer-mets-familia-machado.html This could be an interesting twist, leaves the middle infield bare but could yield a much better return. If it were to happen I think Sano is back up quickly, Adrianza and Polanco get the middle, and maybe Gordon gets a taste of the bigs. I prefer to keep Escobar unless its a great return but he certainly should be moveable for a big prospect.
  18. RaoulDuke
    Getting Rodney work to keep him fresh for his soon to be new team?!?
  19. RaoulDuke
    I would move him if a really good offer is made. I also have no problem with them resigning him, I think ideally he plays 3rd with Sano at 1st or takes Dozier's spot at 2nd and one of the kids plays short. It doesn't matter to the current situation but he sure has provided a ton of excess value from trading the bad version of Liriano for him, has to be one of the better trades in Twins history by now.
  20. RaoulDuke
    I think this was the right move. Unlike Buxton (though his hitting would certainly benefit from some minors time as well) Sano's value is entirely in him crushing the ball and he is doing very little of that. Work hard on conditioning, or the leg is going to be a recurring issue. First base/ dh is coming soon but he still has to run the bases and not injure himself doing so. Work hard on attitude, your spot isn't guarenteed because of potential. Be humble and let the challenge drive you to be better. Work hardest on approach, its currently very broken. When Sano came up at first I was most impressed with how patient he was for a young guy. Pitchers wanted to nibble to avoid him, exploit his youth and let him get himself out like rookies are prone to. He waited them out like a pro letting them get behind in the count and forcing them to walk him or throw hittable pitches. No doubt the league found weaknesses and adjusted, now he needs to do the same. Currently he is getting eaten alive chasing low and away and is checking his swings wayyy more than I have ever seen any baseball player do. Nothing good is going to come from checking your swing. It either means he was purely guessing and had no way to adjust or his mechanics are so messed up he has to start every swing that early to make any contact. I think he will get it back, there is a monster hitter buried in there buried by bad habits. A good kick in the ass/ reality check was overdue.
  21. RaoulDuke
    Futility Bowl 2018!!!
  22. RaoulDuke
    Bobby "Big Hoss" Wilson!!!!
  23. RaoulDuke
    We set the precedent for this last year, Chris Gimenez didn't even just DH he caught when not pitching!
  24. RaoulDuke
    On one hand bring him back asap, his defense is superb enough to warrant whatever he bats. On the other hand, damn it would have been nice to get him some AAA abs to get going and get confidence. He has been able to get back on track with his approach with a little minors time in the past. He is a very valuable player even if he doesn't hit but him hitting increases that value exponentially. I would say don't mess with his confidence and throw him right back in vs mlb pitching but its the route they have chosen. I see a lot of people suggest him bunting but pitch recognition seems to be his major flaw and that isn't going to lead to bunts. Buck needs to get major league breaking stuff down, until he does he will be lost at the plate.
  25. RaoulDuke
    Rosario has awesome hands at the plate, when his swing is on he can hit almost any pitch thrown at him. That is a double edged sword however as it makes him prone to swinging at utter crap. For every liner he smashes on a ball under his chin or at his toes there are 5 to 10 that he weakly pops up/ fouls/ dribbles. A little more discretion and making the pitcher come to him would make him so much consistent and dangerous.
×
×
  • Create New...