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RaoulDuke

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Everything posted by RaoulDuke

  1. RaoulDuke
    Didn't think I would ever advocate keeping Kepler, even after last years 2nd half, but the outfield mix as it stands is pretty thin. Betting on Buxton in Center with Castro as his backup and betting on Wallner/ Larnach in Left, Kepler looks like a nice stabilizer for Right.
  2. RaoulDuke
    Topa looks like he will be a nice addition. Seems like the cutter unlocked him to have a pitch in between the sinker and slider. I like that he is pretty much a sidearmer and groundball specialist as well, gives yet another look out of the back end of the pen Duran Stewart Jax Topa Theilbar Varland? (if he isn't stretched out) Staumont/ Alcala/ Funderburk That is a pretty decent pen all the way through. There are question marks on injuries, age, and sustaining success but there are are also a lot of options when something doesn't break right.
  3. RaoulDuke
    He is going to have to mash but he seems to have the building blocks to do so if he can put it together.
  4. RaoulDuke
    Ya that was why I mentioned it was Coors, it does skew offensive numbers. But if its a bargain bin contract, 75% of Crons production there might be a good platoon bat/ insurance on Kiriloff. That being said he might just be cooked as well last year he had plenty of time in Coors and didn't produce. Just seems like it would be in the price range they are presumably shopping in.
  5. RaoulDuke
    Ya I am not super high on him but he does fit and they have signed that type of player. If its a decent deal he could be a positive piece, I wouldn't want them to go 3 years and I wouldn't want it over 11 or 12 a year. Kinda Gallo 2.0 and hope it works?
  6. RaoulDuke
    Saw a rumor that a mystery team had appeared for Soler. He could be a good fit here, big RH power that can slot into DH and some OF. Not sure if they will want to meet the asking price but they haven't strayed away from big power with contact issues. Martinez is kinda the same boat but older and DH only. Montgomery would be awesome but saving 5 mil on Polanco isn't going to suddenly let them sign someone to 20+ million a year. As someone else said a reunion with one of Solano/ Taylor/ Cron seems the most likely. Cron had a couple real nice years in Coors before coming back to earth last year.
  7. RaoulDuke
    That seems like a promising scouting report. Right up the Falvine alley with high ride and a slider, they are betting on being able to unlock some things for him. They do love to target analytics darlings with ride or spin or extension. I wonder if his college injury was known and that dropped his draft stock? I wonder how long they will try and keep building him as a starter, seems like he could be on a much quicker path in the pen. He is a major lottery ticket kinda prospect but a nice get as a throw in to push the deal over the line.
  8. RaoulDuke
    Sad to see Jorge go but he was certainly a moveable asset. Nice to get a top 100 prospect for him in Gonzalez. Topa seems like a decent bet to be a Pagan replacement for the 7th. I am not really excited for Desclafani but hopefully he bounces back. Bowen is a low minors wildcard throw in. I still want them to trade for a 2 or 3 starter, this move does not "fill the hole" in the rotation it just provides back end depth.
  9. RaoulDuke
    Luzardo is up there, not sure he costs an Arraez but it won't be cheap. I still think the most logical deal is Julien to Seattle. Is there someone to poach from the Dodgers now that Yamamoto and Glasnow are in the mix there? I did like the Nestor Cortes idea someone posted at one point, doubt the Yanks would listen without a vast overpay. Bieber still intrigues me as a buy low rental, even if it is in division. Valdez would be interesting but I see no reason Houston moves him.
  10. RaoulDuke
    Could be a useful 26th man if Buxton can actually play CF. Having an elite pinch runner is certainly more valuable with the extra innings rule and the increased base size. He cannot be the Buxton backup plan, got to have someone that can be a legit starter in center if/ when/ to get rest Bux can't go. Maybe that is covered with Castro/ Martin but that is shakey ground to start with and Billy Hamilton 1.5 doesn't make me feel any better about it.
  11. RaoulDuke
    He did always have a cannon for an arm, maybe they are going to groom him to try and replace Ohtani.
  12. RaoulDuke
    Duran has been a stud in the pen from the go. I wouldn't mess with him facing adversity to transition back to role he was already shaky with in the high minors. Why introduce failure/ adversity into the mix when he is excelling/ growing in his current role. Let the dude be badass closer, it clearly suits him. Relievers are only gaining in value as starters go less.
  13. RaoulDuke
    I would be shocked if they tried it, he has just been too good as a reliever since transitioning. The role really maximizes his strengths and minimizes his weaknesses. He can let it fly at 100% giving him insane stuff, saves wear and tear on his arm which already had some question marks, and it lets his 3 pitch mix shine instead of having to incorporate lower quality offerings to get through an order multiple times. The guys that have or are attempting to back into the rotation still mostly possess a starters mix and less than elite stuff. Jordan Hicks is the odd one, that will be interesting to watch. Add in an innings limit and growing pains from switching roles/ having to find new pitches and you are weakening him for at least a season as well. The interesting thing to me is with starters going less and teams rostering more pen arms, I think eventually a new long reliever role may form around guys with legit stuff that can go 2-3-4 innings and get a longer (but not on rotation) rest in between. It could be somewhat difficult to deploy them properly and players will hate it because of money, but a 85-105 inning guy that gets 2-3 days in between appearances could be an interesting weapon to have.
  14. RaoulDuke
    Not interested in veteran 4/5 starters. If they won't spend to add a free agent pony up some trade value and get someone with 3/2 upside. It will hurt to trade one but there is a massive infield jam. Lee/ Julien/ Polanco/ Martin/ Kiriloff/ Miranda/ Farmer/ Gordon/ Castro all have to get worked in somewhere in an infield that already has Correa/ Lewis as long term cornerstones. Turn some of that surplus into pitching.
  15. RaoulDuke
    Wolves are by no means the favorites but they have a team this year that looks like it could be a real contender if health holds. They have the single biggest piece in town with Edwards, as well as the best front office, and coach. New ownership finally taking all the way over is going to be great for them as well. Twins have a punchers chance, they should win the weak division again and baseball playoffs are a crap shoot. Lack of a 2nd playoff starter is currently their biggest black eye to me. Vikings are their competitive rebuild crap are not going to do anything in the years they sneak into the playoffs. Gotta have a HOFer or a great rookie on that cheap contract at QB to win in the NFL playoffs. I do not follow hockey at all.
  16. RaoulDuke
    Gone are the Blackburns/ Silvas/ Pavanos/ Bundys, now to pitch 6+ you need to have the stuff to do so. Pens are just too good now, why trot out a 3/4/5 starter for a third time when you can throw a mix of guys throwing their plus stuff for a inning or more. It also saves the top of the rotation arms from being overworked. If someone is pitching a gem let em go deeper, but if Lopez/ Gray are turning in a mediocre start why waste the bullets. This does make it much more important to have good relievers, they need to maintain arm talent to capitalize on this. Duran/ x /Stewart / x /Jax / Theilbar is good start but is far from a lock down pen and they will need multi innings guys.
  17. RaoulDuke
    Kershaw is kinda the expensive version of Rich Hill at this point. Could be interesting on a highly incentive laden contract but it's a real gamble. Don't expect over 100 innings and you are rolling the dice he is healthy for the playoffs. Even then as good as his career is he hasn't been good come October, I wouldn't want him to be more than the 3rd or 4th option and he will probably get paid much better than that. The old dude that won't go away I am kinda interested is Grenkie. He has always been one of my favorite non Twins because of the weirdness. Wouldn't give him more than a show me deal with a chance at the 5th spot but if we are senior home dumpster diving I would enjoy this one. Should take much less money than Kershaw.
  18. RaoulDuke
    The ceiling is very high, but the floor is much lower than many real championship teams. Buxton/ Correa/ Lewis is insane in fairy world where **** actually goes right. That being said reality has not been kind and all 3 have suffered extensively with injuries. I like last years model of hoping they stay healthy while succeeding with pitching. Focus assets on improving the 2/3 spots in the rotation. Focus on the rotation and trade a hitter to solidify a number 2. Julien/ Lewis/ Lee/ Rodriguez represent some real future building blocks that could be very valuable in acquiring a good starter.
  19. RaoulDuke
    Good for Kenta, glad he got paid. I enjoyed his contributions as a Twin. I loved him in the covid year, watching him eat people alive with the bugs bunny stuff and 90-92. Real shame he had such injury problems, but it was not a shocker. He was never a full season workhorse, even in the good years LA shifted him to the pen later in the year/ playoffs. Coming back from TJ he got gifted a whole off season of clean health to build back up and regain form. He certainly had flashes of his old self and some stretches where he looked good, but also had plenty of questionable outings as well. I hope he does well, the contract is higher than I would have liked but that got him secured early in the off season for Detroit. I think he is a good bet to be a decent 4th starter, with the upside of flashing as a 3 if things go really well. However his innings will have to be severely controlled to keep him healthy and available.
  20. RaoulDuke
    I really really liked watching Cortes when he was on his good streak with NY, just a fun quirky lefty changing arm slots and messing with everyone's timing. Reminded me of the super Kenta covid season. That being said, getting by in the low 90s with timing and quirks is a tight rope to walk. He may well be more a back end arm than the force he was in 21/22. Pablo Lopez had real + stuff to realize, Cortes could potentially be quirky again. I would be excited to see him acquired cheap to see what the Twins pitching lab could get out of him but I wouldn't spend a good prospect on it. Maybe Kepler on his expiring plus maybe a low minors arm is an interesting fit because of the years of control on Cortes.
  21. RaoulDuke
    Ya if someone wants to value Ryan that high I could be real interested in trading him.
  22. RaoulDuke
    Hard no on Anderson, zero interest. No on Giolito unless he is a cheap vet back end of the rotation add, he is not as bad as he was last year for sure but he also is not as good as he was at his peak. He used to get so much use out of the high changeup, a ****** pitch that no one was looking for to be thrown intentionally. Hendriks would be cool because of the history but I can't remember a club signing a free agent reliever to a "get better from tj" multiyear contract yet. I think that play works better for starters you can get excess value from. They would never trade him to us but I would like to see what this pitching lab could do with Cease.
  23. RaoulDuke
    There is a ton of collective blame to go around. Wallner/ Kepler/ Jeffers/ Taylor/ Solano/ Kirilloff/ Castro all struggled. Polanco had one big hit/ Lewis cranked some homers but was over matched in a lot of other at bats/ Julien worked walks and hit but struggled on the bases. Really the only solid performer on offense was Correa. Riding Lewis in the 3rd spot was dumb, it should have been Correa. Multiple potential rallies ended with the man with 60+ post season rbis on deck in favor of a rookie and Kepler. Sonny Gray had a great year but benefited from a lot of luck and it finally blew up in his face at the worst time. The pen was mostly a real positive outside of Thielbar blowing a game and Maeda/ Ober giving up some in mop up duty. Gold stars to Lopez/ Correa/ Duran/ Jax. Silver stars to Lewis/ Julien/ Pagan/ Paddack/ Taylor (for his defense).
  24. RaoulDuke
    Big letdown after the big win in Houston. Bats gotta show up with RISP, no way should a starter issue 5 walks and no runs. As good of a year as Gray has had he has also walked a tight rope a lot, and it finally bit him. Swap Correa and Lewis in the order, it was tough to see Lewis kill a couple rallies with Correa waiting right there. AK has looked real bad, I might start Solano but then again Urquidy is a guy he should be able to hit. For the love of all things good stop pitching to Alvarez, let him swing at crap if he wants to or walk to first.
  25. RaoulDuke
    To me Royce played the biggest role in breaking the streak, all the setbacks and hurdles but he just comes up and hits the floor running. He turned the offense around mid season, just took the reigns as a rookie and ran with it. Obviously the grand slams are not sustainable but the clutch hitting and the attitude are. Its nebulous and everyone contributes, the starting pitching is by far the best it has been, the pen is a weapon, the bench contains a lot of pinch hitting/ running opportunities, ect. But Royce Lewis embodies the streak so well as a top prospect that dealt with multiple injuries plus the lost covid year, now the hamstring right as the playoffs happen. He still keeps coming back every time and producing like he was never away, he plays with an intensity. He was the offense in the streak breaking game, 2nd game he had them scared and pitching around him. Royce Lewis is the ****ing man, and he is a Twin. Bring on the Lewis/ Correa/ Lee/ Kiriloff infield.
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