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RaoulDuke

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Everything posted by RaoulDuke

  1. RaoulDuke
    The return of the Kevin Slowey profile that the Twins used to covet. Hopefully he does well, I would like to see a number of young arms get looks for the rest of the season.
  2. RaoulDuke
    Pressley turned out to be a regrettable move, but I think Houston unlocked something for him to really take a step forward. He was also a unique strikeout arm vs the rest of the Twins bullpen at the time. Rodney was closing, Taylor Rodgers still converting from starter, Hildenberger as a junky side armer, Duffey throwing curves, ect. Right now the pen has Duran, Jax, Stewart, Varland all as strikeout power arms. It would almost be criminal to not sell at least one imo, when the rest of the roster is lacking in so many places. They also haven't shown a willingness to go multiple years on a contract with a reliever, so how many of them are they realistically going to extend when they reach free agency?
  3. RaoulDuke
    I am a sucker for starting pitcher stuff, I know bats are a better bet in the high rounds but I always want the pitchers. This guy looks like he could be a horse of an athlete and has promising stuff with velocity and a ton of movement on his pitches. Injury driven lack of experience and chance to hone his stuff hopefully let him drop so the Twins can benefit from cleaning up his mechanics and honing the control. The dream is a Ferrari version of Ober?
  4. RaoulDuke
    They should not want to move Correa he will be a building block to a playoff/ ws caliber roster for the foreseeable future and he is a unique asset in Twins history they normally do not have access too. That being said it depends on the ownership. Correa as 25% of the payroll is pretty limiting if they are going to penny pinch, C4+Bux+Lopez is 50%+ of a 130 millon dollar payroll. That isn't a winning roster unless you get extremely lucky with rookies and over performance from cheap and/or young guys. How fast can it be sold because it seems like the current group would sell him for the savings while a group that wants to win would supplement around him. I hope the Suns guys make it quick!
  5. RaoulDuke
    I don't think it would be wise to trade any of the top 3 starters, only Festa is really anywhere close that has that upside. I suppose someone could blow them away for Lopez and shedding that contract would be worth it for a haul, but I doubt that is going to happen after his performance last year. It hurts but logically I think Duran is most tradeable arm that will bring something of real value back. Jax can take over closer, Stewart if healthy is elite setup, someone of Alcala/ Sands or a wildcard like Canterino/ Varland steps up to setup. As for the return they are seeking less valuable positions which should lower the cost some. They don't need a SS/ CF/ C/ 2nd they need a corner guy that can mash. That should make a reliever as the main return a more realistic possibility. Duran for a young COF or First Base or 3rd Base that real plus offensive potential?
  6. RaoulDuke
    I think they should leave him be to continue to be a great bullpen arm, he has the "fireman" capability and the stuff to be a closer. Great pen arms are becoming more and more valuable as starters pitch less, especially ones that could throw 2 or 3 innings at a high level. I think as starter he would be a short start, 5 inning guy for at least the first year. Eventually once all the way stretched out is he a 3rd starter? He is an interesting case is he most valuable as a setup/ closer arm, Innings limited starter, or could you use him as a kinda long reliever ace and throw him multiple innings less frequently. The economics has to get there to be viable but I think that is going to be a sought after pitcher eventually.
  7. RaoulDuke
    Thats a good bullpen not a lock down bullpen. Duran/ Jax/ Stewart are studs but they need 2-3 guys more preforming at a 7th/ 8th inning setup level to be lockdown and just end games in the 7th if they are up. Some of that has to come from within so whoever rises to the top from Varland/ Alcala/ Sands/ Paddack can fill a spot. They should sign at least one if not two Jax/ Stewart level guys with some track record to truly make the pen a weapon. They also need lefties badly. At least one, if not two, of those setup level guys needs to be left handed. Thielbar isn't it, Funderburk isn't it, Moran isn't it, they need a lockdown lefty. Preferably its the best late inning arm you add.
  8. RaoulDuke
    Correa is "Dior", if you are going to pay for it you better not be rocking wranglers and sketchers alongside it. If the payroll is 125 then spending 28% of it on one player is putting a crazy level of expectation and need on that player to constantly preform at an MVP level. Maybe if it was a true ace or a Soto level bat it makes sense but Correa, while awesome, isn't that piece. If they are going to contend or make noise at this payroll level it needs to be through the farm system development path like the Rays/ Orioles/ Dbacks approach. They won't contend every year but could hit on the right young core coming up at the same time. Retain studs on cheaper first contracts and trade guys getting super expensive for good prospects. Hopefully they get sold to an ownership group that will pay for studs but as it is they can't afford them.
  9. RaoulDuke
    Festa has the best stuff by far. The change and slider have legit break if he can harness the command of them, the fastball is already 95+ and he seems to be able to spot it pretty good. His change seems kinda fast which blends with the slider speed, not sure how much that will matter but he kinda has 2 speeds would be nice to see the slower curve improve as a 4th option. Zebby I haven't watched much of but the stats and watching his first start he seems like a real solid arm. Somewhat the opposite of Festa where command of everything is going to be his strength, though he is pumping it in the mid 90s. Kinda Joe Ryan vibes to me maybe? SMR is having a great season so far. Not sure I see him being a playoff starter ideally but he is in that 4/3 range. Varland is a decent back of the rotation guy that could excel in the pen to me. Not sure there is anything dominate to latch on too but solid for an inning+ is only growing in value.
  10. RaoulDuke
    I think Julien and Kiriloff were the chips they expected to have value coming into the year but now selling either is selling very low. E-Rod is moveable for good pitching to me but its going to take a lot of filler to make him the main piece. Wallner could be an interesting trade piece but it feels like they need to hold onto lefties. I am just not sure they have easily moveable stuff to get a top of the rotation arm, and if they aren't getting that they probably aren't contending, which leads to why are you trading the future to boost a down year. By all means go get a Kikuchi or even Evoaldi if the price is ok, but I am not sure they move the needle enough to warrant the capital spent. Might be best to just trade on the margins for a reliable lefty in the pen and a vet arm to eat innings and hope for the best. I wouldn't be opposed to selling Kepler or Santana either.
  11. RaoulDuke
    They do love to trade for oft injured starters....
  12. RaoulDuke
    Yes I would wait for him to re establish value at the mlb level, or at least give him a long runway to do so. That may take some time but it seems like he is starting to trend in the right direction. If there is a chance to trade him in the future while he is producing in the mlb I wouldn't mind them doing it. The time to trade him was last off season at his peak, but that is a crazy hard move to make.
  13. RaoulDuke
    I am ok with trading Julien, he seemed to be the logical choice last off season to get a starter. The bat is real as are the defensive shortcomings. Doing it now after he hit a sophmore wall is probably selling low on him, I would let him re-establish himself in the mlb before moving him.
  14. RaoulDuke
    Sometimes I wonder if guys like Royce and Buxton are reaching a point where mechanics/ refined training have made it so the cream of the crop athletes are becoming too explosive to prevent injury. Top end pitchers have been going through this for years with the increased velocity and spin. The human body can only handle so much repeated stress focused on a couple points of failure. Sports cars like Buxton and Royce can out preform but are under very high stress, making them prone to blow out at critical points in the process of generating that power/ speed.
  15. RaoulDuke
    He really is impressive. I hope its a minor thing like cramping, I really want to see what Royce can produce given a stretch of health. I don't remember another Twins player just coming up and instantly being the guy, Liriano maybe (for a tragically short time)? Mauer season 2? Royce has been the guy instantly, when he can play. That is just bonkers considering the time missed and stuff overcome.
  16. RaoulDuke
    Sano when he was going good was an absolute force to watch. He had a couple stretches where he lived up to his prospect hype as an absolute masher with discipline and a cannon arm. Sadly those stretches were fleeting and the lows were Gallo without the defense or walks. Eventually he just out conditioned himself from the league. It is great to see him come in way lighter, I hope he can find success in the MLB again. It sucks he never realized his potential with the Twins because he had the tools to be a an awesome bat. He crushed homers when he barreled it like Stanton or Thome in their primes.
  17. RaoulDuke
    I am fine with this, they needed Buxton insurance. Seems like a win win trade from both sides, Dodgers turn Margot into Hernandez who can play some infield as well while the Twins get their RH outfielder/ CF backup on the cheap. I am somewhat surprised there was the extra prospect thrown in, hes no major piece but a big power potential infielder isn't nothing. Miller is a pretty long shot to be more than a utility guy at his peak so its kind of a wash.
  18. RaoulDuke
    An Odorizzi reunion would interest me if he looked decent in his showcase. He can battle Tony D for the 5th spot or be depth, I always thought he might look interesting out of the pen letting it fly. Taylor or Duvall would be ok as Buxton insurance/ the Kyle Garlick RH role.
  19. RaoulDuke
    Same, I think analytics probably plays a big role in it. They want guys with stuff they think they can maximize. Might just be hubris on my part but I think Staumont is a step above the rest of these guys, if he is healthy of course. Seems like he could be the Brock Stewart of this year but thoracic outlet surgery is scary to have on the resume.
  20. RaoulDuke
    Might be the deepest if more breaks good than bad, but I'm not sure it will be the best. To me they lack a true 8th inning guy. Stewart could be it but is a huge bet on health, Jax is kinda streaky and I would rather the lock down guy not be a slider specialist. They do have a ton of 7th inning guys which is great, but I am thinking about like Pressley into Hader damn near making it a 7 inning game. Devin Williams would have been such a nasty arm to pair with Duran.
  21. RaoulDuke
    M-i-e-n-t-k-i-e-w-i-c-z
  22. RaoulDuke
    I did not expect another pen addition. They have Duran/ Stewart/ Jax/ Thielbar/ Topa as a pretty crowded back end already. Alcala/ Funderburk/ Staumont/ Jackson can all be valuable pieces. There is certainly volatility and consistency issues with relievers but there is a ton of options with upside there. Seems like they are trying to cover for not having that real #2 by loading the pen.
  23. RaoulDuke
    This is what scares me most. Buxton in CF is awesome and also unicorn dust, don't ****ing build your roster around it. They finally did that last year with MAT but now the replacement is Castro/ Gordon.
  24. RaoulDuke
    This years Gallo move. Lets see if we can hit on a late career vet on the cheap. They have played with this in multiple variations at different price points. Thome was an A+ awesome signing worked out great. Cruz was an A+ awesome signing, everything went right. Donaldson was a much bigger signing and he was not great then eventually very bad. Gallo hit some dingers occasionally and played good defense but was a black hole otherwise. There are some historical attempts at this as well Boone/ Bautista come to mind that did not work out well. Santana is this years model. For me he is a pretty decent gamble at 6 mil per year. Fits in with a Kiriloff platoon/ DH spot if it goes well but on a contract that can be ignored if he doesn't produce.
  25. RaoulDuke
    I would give Soler 30 mil for 2 years and negotiate from there. He is the best fit left to maximize the offense. Martinez on a 1 year deal intrigues me, but DH only is not a great fit. Duvall/ Taylor seems to be more the pool they are fishing in. I would take Duvall first but welcome MAT back in the same price range. .
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