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RaoulDuke

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Everything posted by RaoulDuke

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. RaoulDuke
    Shifting starters to relief is a nice luxury to have. The pen still worries me the most out of anything in the playoffs though. They need Stewart to be the beast he was before injury, Jax/ Pagan/ Thielbar all have question marks and don't inspire great confidence as a bridge to Duran. Varland has looked very good letting it fly for an inning, Maeda has a track record of success doing so as well. I would expect them to be used in that setup mix and not necessarily as long guys. Duran/ Stewart is your big 2 then Thielbar/ Pagan/ Varland/ Jax are your one inning guys. Maeda is a hybrid, Paddack is the long guy and Funderburk is the mop up or early loogy.
  4. RaoulDuke
    Gotta beat good teams if you want to advance in the post season. That being said give me the Rangers and that weak pen so they can at least get the curse monkey off their backs. Valdez/ Verlander is a real formidable 1-2, Lopez/ Gray are by far the best we have trotted out but neither is a clear favorite.
  5. RaoulDuke
    I think I want the Rangers? Real ace (albeit an old one) and a real offense but the pen is real suspect. Blue Jays and Seattle are also about even matchups. Houston we played tough regular season but they are a seasoned post season team. Rays seem to have our number, along with Atlanta they were the teams that clearly outclassed them in the regular season.
  6. RaoulDuke
    I am ok with them not adding anything big at the deadline, but not adding a reliever still looks suspect to me. Duran is awesome, Theilbar is great vs lefties and decent vs righties, Pagan has had a good year but I still have ptsd from him, Jax has been streaky. They are putting a lot of weight on Maeda being good, Varland transitioning well quickly, and Stewart getting healthy and right in time.
  7. RaoulDuke
    Twins should, and I think would, be happy to spend a bit to add Moore or Lopez. Maybe Moore's price tag scares off some we have a chance teams. Giolito might be an interesting gamble for the pen, he hasn't been great and won't be thrilled with a pen role but if he just lets it fly for an inning or two???? Lefty masher could certainly be upgraded as well. Luplow has been ok, and most of these guys are somewhere in that range of player, but why not take a chance if they think its an upgrade. Price shouldn't be a factor its not like they are in the luxury tax range, hopefully a useful player or two drops to them.
  8. RaoulDuke
    Lewis/ Julien/ Wallner all near 900 ops, carrying this offense. So cool to watch, if the vets can consistently show up it can be a competitive lineup. Duran is worrying me a tad bit, they need to get him some rest but then Pagan or Jax is your closer for a week which is far from ideal.
  9. RaoulDuke
    Trades always come with risks. Trading a guy getting his first big contract is always scary in both possible positives and negatives, that is a major asset. Martin/ SWR was a good return prospect capital wise but both had question marks, Berrios was a good young arm that had showed results going into his first big contract phase but had question marks. Our return hasn't worked out so far and looks in real jeopardy to, but at the same time I wouldn't want to be paying Berrios the contract they are. He is a 3 at best because he fluctuates between 2 and 4 stuff. Glad to see he is doing better this year but that first year of the Jays contract had to real disappointing for all involved. I am not sure anyone won this trade, could still change dramatically but both sides haven't received what they were going for yet.
  10. RaoulDuke
    Duran is a straight up monster and a delight to watch. Even when he gives up hard contact most of the time it seems to be because he threw the splinker and the hitter was geared up for 103 so he was able to get around on 99-100. If he ever learns a change up that isn't 100 he might not be hittable.
  11. RaoulDuke
    I think the Twins have just been good (and lucky) at putting struggling, middling, or injured starters into the pen, Nathan/ Perkins/ Rogers/ Duran all took off once switched to the pen and come with 5-6 years of service time. I am amazed they let Liam Hendriks get away before trying it again, seeing as how dominate he turned out. Normally they seem to recognize guys that have the potential to really excel once the starters workload is off them and they can trim down the pitch mix and let it fly It hasn't been all roses since 87, when they have targeted "proven" closers from outside the organization it has pretty routinely blown up in their face. Capps/ Rodney/ Coloume/ Reed/ Lopez. I see why they are always reluctant to sign vet relievers.
  12. RaoulDuke
    I want to see him play in CF as much as possible to maximize his value but I also want the focus to be him playing CF come the playoffs. That is going to take plenty of days at DH but that is much more palatable now that Taylor is there to keep a great glove on the field.
  13. RaoulDuke
    Health is certainly a gamble for every team but the Twins have targeted players in both free agency and trades that had their price depressed because of health concerns. Buxton/ Correa/ Mahle at least are not on this team without health concerns. I mean it more as those are the only real average spots in the defense. Polanco is a decent 2nd base but his all star bid was all about his bat, Miranda could become average at 3rd but I don't think he is there yet in part to him playing a lot of 1st last year, and Vazquez is solid but I am not sure Jeffers is (outside of framing) and he will get 40% of the playing time there. The Those being the "weaknesses" should lead to a very good defense.
  14. RaoulDuke
    This will be a vastly different year. This team is built around a gamble on health and young talent hitting. Buxton/ Correa/ Kirilloff/ Polanco/ Gray/ Maeda/ Mahle/ Duran/ Alcala all the star talent has health questions. If it breaks right its a deep rotation filled with number 2/3 starters and depth behind them. A pen headlined by a true monster and 2 other potential flame throwers, with some legit lefties mixed in. A defense with 2 platinum glove winners at the important spots and and multiple other gold glove caliber guys spread around, the only real average spots or weaknesses is at 2nd/ 3rd/ C. The offense has the two best hitters at CF and SS, a kinda crazy situation, but injury concerns plague them. Buxton/ Correa will lead things Polanco/ Kepler/ Gallo all need to rebound, then its on the young bats. There needs to be standouts from the Miranda/ Kirilloff/ Lewis/ Larnach/ Wallner/ Celestino/ Julien/ Lee group to contend. They have raised the floor with professional hitters like Solano/ Farmer but they still need a lot of fire power.
  15. RaoulDuke
    Ober has still got to prove it, I lump him in with Varland/ Winder/ SWR/ Balazovic as guys that could step up and claim a spot but have to do so. I did forget about Lopez, I was on board with that trade. I do think they are likely to bring one of Maeda/ Gray/ Mahle back depending on who preforms, stays healthy, and what they cost. Mahle probably has the highest ceiling but Maeda/ Gray could be cheaper shorter contracts due to age.
  16. RaoulDuke
    I am pretty high on Maeda, his covid year was awesome to witness. He was just eating hitters alive at 91 with pin point control and spinning the ball. He probably won't reach that peak again but he can be a good 3 borderline 2 going forward. He is not an ace and will never throw a ton of innings but he is one of the few pitchers in recent Twins history I would have actually had confidence in going into a playoff start. I hope he can stay healthy and get right by the end of the year, maybe he can be extended with somewhat of a discount because the team stuck with him through injury. Ryan/ Maeda/ Paddock could be a decent start to a rotation for next year.
  17. RaoulDuke
    The best case scenario is Polanco is healthy and hitting for the 1st half making him a valuable trade piece. Correa is locked in, Miranda/ Lewis/ Lee are the future and need a spot to play. Kirilloff hopefully regains form putting him in that category as well. Gordon/ Farmer/ Solano are solid almost starters depth. Julien is lurking in the minors as well. They are going to sell some infielders once the dust has settled more. Polanco has been a great Twin but hes getting expensive and the farm is nipping at his heels.
  18. RaoulDuke
    I think they have significantly raised the floor on this team, they should contend for the division even with the new schedule and playing better teams more. The offense has potential but is reliant on a couple guys breaking out. The pitching has a lot of 2-4 guys that could preform and make a nice rotation or be hurt/ rusty and throw back of the rotation stuff. To make noise in the playoffs they need a lot of rolls to go right. Best case scenario they feel ok about Lopez/ Mahle pitching game 1 and 2. Buxton is healthy and Correa is leading a young core of Miranda/ Kirilloff/ Larnach.
  19. RaoulDuke
    No chance he gets moved back to the rotation, he is to valuable to this team that is trying to win now. He was too good last year, too much of a nuclear option to mess with his development going forward. Just enjoy that we have one of the 5 nastiest relievers in baseball for years to come, and at a time where they have never been more valuable.
  20. RaoulDuke
    This will certainly allow them to work in rest for Buck, he now has days he can DH without them losing much defensively and a long term replacement if things go bad. Taylor is a weak bat but great defender with good speed, limit his exposure and he could be an asset. Having Buxton healthy for the playoffs is the goal, he can DH more in the regular season now even if that limits his counting stats and major strength. Buxton as a CF is an insane player, Buxton as a DH is good player. They need Buxton to be in center for the playoffs.
  21. RaoulDuke
    I like it solid depth move for a minimal price. Sisk and Cruz are both real wildcard prospects with major control issues that weren't viewed as close enough for anyone to claim in rule 5. Up to 4 gold glove caliber outfielders now, they have clearly worked to raise the floor of this team so they don't bottom out again like the 2nd half last year. Taylor/ Farmer/ Larnach/ Jeffers is a very solid bench. This also allows Lewis time to get right and ready when he comes back, allows Wallner/ Celestino/ Martin/ Julien time to earn their call ups in AAA. Kepler has to be traded at this point, right?
  22. RaoulDuke

    Who's on 1st

    RaoulDuke commented on Doc Munson's blog entry in Fantasy GM

    A healthy Kirilloff hopefully runs away with the position. Nasty LH bat and the scouts seem to like him at 1st. Miranda will certainly take reps there, though I think they would like to maximize his 3b innings to get him experience. Gallo has played there. Polanco/ Gordon could see reps there. Julien if he forces his promotion.
  23. RaoulDuke
    I think they are hoping Larnach or Wallner claim a Mlb spot in the spring and then they can cycle through everyone at DH. There is a lot of positional flexibility with Farmer/ Gordon/ Miranda/ Kirilloff/ and Kepler/ Gallo maybe taking a day in center here and there. DH is the half work day to keep defenders fresh and bats in the lineup. That being said I wouldn't mind a cheap Reyes or Gurriel signing but they shouldn't be full time or have a long leash. In the end they are playing the Garlic role as lefty masher.
  24. RaoulDuke
    Untouchable - Rodriguez/ Lee Near untouchable - Lewis/ Duran You are going to pay a premium - Miranda/ Ryan/ SWR/ Varland It will cost you - Arraez Lets talk - Polanco/ Kepler/ Wallner/ Larnach/ Martin/ Ober/ Winder/ Gordon/ Farmer Probably not worth trading due to depressed value - Kirilloff/ Balazovic They seem to want an innings eater with the targeting of Lopez, he isn't clearly above anything we have now but is a better bet to throw 170+ innings than Gray/ Mahle/ Maeda. I expect this is the route they will eventually pull the trigger on (weather it is Lopez or a similar pitcher). They have been gambling on injury risk so a high upside/ high risk play like Sale could certainly happen. I doubt they pay the prospect capital for an established 1 or 2 but Woodruff/ Gallen/ Cortes would all look great topping this rotation. I personally love Cortes but I see zero reason NY trades him and certainly not for Kepler + mid pieces. Young controllable top of the rotation talent is the golden goose, target players that have that upside. I would much rather they spend more on an upside arm like Cabrera than a known solid one like Lopez.
  25. RaoulDuke
    Another possible plus to this deal is if Paddack struggles to return to form or the 3rd pitch doesn't turn into an actual weapon he is a pretty good case of move him to the pen. Maximize his two pitch mix, increase velocity and break with extra effort, reduce injury risk by reducing work load. Its not the path he, or the Twins wants, but it could be a viable plan B if needed.
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