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RaoulDuke

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Everything posted by RaoulDuke

  1. RaoulDuke
    I think it will be by committee to start. Who is throwing good and who does the match up favor out of Rogers/ Hendriks/ Chafin/ Sands. This year is going to be a large audition to see who gets the back of the bullpen spots going forward. The super vets are there to stabilize things in the first half of the year, if any prove they still have something in the tank they probably get traded at the deadline. They are going to run a lot of young arms through to see what sticks. I think Festa is the most likely candidate to switch and succeed in the pen, Prielipp could if they deem his time as a starter over, Raya has real potential in the pen, Bradley could be an interesting experiment if he can't stick in the rotation, ect.
  2. RaoulDuke
    This is the year for him to prove it or not. He has the Gallo profile (minus the glove). If he can bang 35 hrs and take walks you live with the strikeouts and lack of average and defense. If he isn't mashing his value is low.
  3. RaoulDuke
    Bummer, I want to see him make it and pitch in the MLB. The faster knuckle is an interesting concept and using it more as a secondary pitch is as well.
  4. RaoulDuke
    This pen is built on dudes that max out at 7th inning guy at best. This season is going to be a lot of figuring out who in the glut of prospects near or in the MLB are pieces to build a pen on. I think they have front loaded it with all the vets to offer more stability so the disaster that was the post deadline pen was is less likely to happen but all are questionable and replaceable. If any of Rogers/ Hendriks/ Chafin/ Topa can turn back the clock and be effective they are prime trade bait at the deadline. Banda/ Orze are locks and should contribute. Sands/ Funderburk get a long leash because of youth and control but neither likely setup guys long term. Then you see what you can get out of prospects and starters transitioning to build the back end. Festa/ Prielipp could both be very interesting turning their stuff loose in short stints. Raya has transitioned and could excel in the role. I think Bradley will be given a lot of opportunity to start but he could also be a very interesting conversion case if that goes poorly.
  5. RaoulDuke
    I think Larnach would have been traded already if anyone was offering any MLB level reliever for him.
  6. RaoulDuke
    The new Pohlad is talking a big game about how things would be different had be involved earlier and how things need to be competitive. Well you just got the first chance we can fully place on your shoulders. Go sign Giolito. Personally I am not sure that is the right move, it was a long shot they would be good with Pablo, but he has talked the game.
  7. RaoulDuke
    All of the shortstop options stink.
  8. RaoulDuke
    Prielipp is on the Duran path. Tantalizing as a starter but beset by injuries and maybe currently lacking a full starters repertoire. Do you continue spending another season stretching him out to get the innings limit up, or do you turn him loose in the pen and see what you have. I would put him in the pen and get him in MLB while he is healthy and has bullets. The current state of the Twins also gives plenty of runway to let him learn on the job and grow. The recent signings are a weird change to add to the situation however. Now they have Banda/ Rogers/ Chafin/ Funderburk coming in as lefties to suddenly crowd the pen picture. I guess he probably continues to start at AAA now.
  9. RaoulDuke
    The sentiment makes sense but they are past that window now. Teams have mostly set their rosters and major trades are way less likely to happen until the deadline. Maybe if someone else loses an ace they come for Ryan but even then they have the upper hand as the competition in demand just isn't there to drive the price up. This is just a kick in nuts for a team starting on the ropes and their isn't much they can do about it. Ryan/ Ober/ Bradley/ SWR probably all but set now, Zebby/ Festa/ Abel fighting for the 5th spot (though I still think Festa is pen bound).
  10. RaoulDuke
    Good taste from Her! I love the weird players. Neshek had such a funky sidearm delivery but still threw average velocity for the time. He is also a huge baseball nerd which helps haha.
  11. RaoulDuke
    Ya I don't think anyone saw the Liam Hendriks turning into a bulldog closer throwing gas thing coming. He was a soft tossing failed 5th starter. Honestly its pretty surprising both him and Rogers ended up on that career path.
  12. RaoulDuke
    They are just collecting former Twins closers at this point. Rogers/ Hendriks to be the old men in the bullpen, Pressley/ Hawkins to be the younger guys on the coaching staff. What are Matt Capps, Fernando Rodney, and Sergio Romo doing these days? What about Pat Neshek he might be my favorite random Twin ever.
  13. RaoulDuke
    I am most interested to see which starters end up in the pen to start the year. Normally its a demotion and they are picking guys with mediocre stuff to fill low leverage roles. This year I think they are searching for guys that can be back of the pen contributors. Prielipp is an obvious choice, get him up and in the MLB without worrying about an innings limit and stretching him out farther. Festa has high end stuff but would probably benefit narrowing his pitch selection and throwing all out vs getting shelled the 3rd time through an order. As well as coming off the TO surgery. Zebby could be an interesting reliever but I think he gets another chance to start first. Bradley is also very interesting to me as he can earn the 3rd spot in the rotation with consistency or he could have nasty reliever stuff if switched to the pen.
  14. RaoulDuke
    Sands/ Rogers/ Topa are all 7th inning dudes if it goes well. Orze could be there as well. Outside of that it is going to be a mix of starters and prospects. It will be one of the more interesting things to follow this year because it is likely to be tumultuous.
  15. RaoulDuke
    Festa/ Raya/ Prielepp are all very intriguing arms that could possibly be dominate relievers in the Duran/ Jax/ Rogers mold. Some of the current Starter depth is getting converted to the bullpen.
  16. RaoulDuke
    I want them to take the top arm. Riskier pick for sure but its how you get special pitchers in the system. Even if they don't fit your timeline a top prospect pitcher is always a very valuable trade piece.
  17. RaoulDuke
    One of the college SS is probably the smart pick if they are there at 3, but I greedily want them to take whichever of the lefty starters they think is best. They rarely (ever?) draft arms in the top 10 and shockingly also rarely have a real ace. Obviously it is a much riskier pick but it would be different then another athletic SS or OF bat.
  18. RaoulDuke
    I wish they would have gotten more prospect heavy returns instead of almost ready or maybe ready guys, but overall I didn't hate most of the moves. It seems odd to specifically target close to the MLB talent while selling most of your MLB roster. Correa was a pure salary dump, screw the Pohlads. Duran is awesome, the one that was really sad to see go but brought back a good return for a reliever. Jax for Bradley is interesting, I don't love it. If you can spend Jax into a good starting prospect that is a win, if Bradley can't make it as a starter he has a decent chance to be Jax as a reliever. Varland is the one that everyone is truly upset over, local dude/ years of control/ presumable new closer ect. I still think it was a decent trade. If you can convert a reliever into a starter prospect + a bat prospect that is probably a win. Its not like he is a lock down closer or bullpen ace, he has 1/2 a good season as a reliever with full control that could be a setup guy. Anything for expiring like Bader/ Castro was a win. I am amazed they got an ok prospect to dump Paddack/ Dobby. Brock Stewart showed why his return was a total flyer. If they truly blow everything up and trade Ryan/ Lopez/ Buxton/ Jeffers I hope the focus on the returns is prospects and not players to make 2026 look slightly more competent.
  19. RaoulDuke
    Glen Taylor lasagna levels of incompetence. The single most uninspiring hire they could have made outside of Tony La Russa, they really are punting until after the lockout. Pablo and Joe are as good as gone.
  20. RaoulDuke
    If they are trading Ryan then next year is a full development year and 2027 could be a lockout. Zero reason to try and get MLB ready talent to have them play in a year where they are punting then sit and waste a year during the lockout. In my opinion they should go all in for prospects, preferably a package headlined by a top prospect arm or two.
  21. RaoulDuke
    I think they should lean into it, make Falvey the manager as well. It saves the Pohlads money and there will be no more scapegoats to hide behind so maybe he will finally be the one to get fired.
  22. RaoulDuke
    I am not sure who this would be but I would kinda like the next manager to have some championship or even just a chunk od post season success. Hunter has a couple playoff series wins but his career was mostly in the regular season. This organization has no one with more that the Blue Jays series win once Vasquez is gone. I won't mind if Hunter gets the job, as I think he has the potential to be a good coach, but I wonder if an old vet for a couple years wouldnt be more helpful rebuilding the organization.
  23. RaoulDuke
    I think Larnach's ceiling is a platoon/ 4th outfield guy. The bat is the only asset, and the power is the only real plus, but he doesn't show it enough because of contact issues. They need an outfield spot to test some guys out at which means Larnach and Wallner are now fighting for the same spot, I prefer Wallner.
  24. RaoulDuke
    Exactly how I think of him, lefty Alcala. Sexy in potential, there is a reason he has been on so many teams.
  25. RaoulDuke
    I think Rocco can be a good head coach with a good roster. He is a players manager that can keep clubhouse morale high by being a friend to the players while still implementing some more analytical new school stuff. Being a somewhat recent player and one that had a ton of talent and a ton of struggles injury wise is a good place to start from. Think Bomba Squad days where Nelson Cruz is napping and all the vibes are high. I don't think he was a good head coach when things got bad. I think he lost the club house at the end of 2024 and it re appeared in 2025. The state of the Twins organization is not his fault but he does get to be a fall guy. The owners and Falvey are the real problem.
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