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jkcarew

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Everything posted by jkcarew

  1. jkcarew
    Regarding Larnach and Rooker... the presence of both (and the similar functional profiles) makes each less vital at the moment... if that makes sense. Should Rooker fail to pan out, they have Larnach for essentially the same role, on a similar timeline. And vice versa. This doesn't make sense to me. Wouldn't the same argument knock (for example) Graterol and Romero down in the rankings...or Rosario and Kepler for that matter. Larnach and Rooker don't even hit from the same side of the plate; Rooker more power and Larnach better contact...even their defensive profiles are not an exact match at this point. And they likely enter the season at least two full levels apart in the system (which is how Graterol and Romero finished last season). Seems everyone else was evaluated based on their own individual circumstance...except Larnach and Rooker. Having said that, they're both probably somewhere around the cusp of the top 20...and I'd have Larnach slightly higher than Rooker. Interesting article/concept and I agree with almost all the rankings, Sano being the outstanding exception.
  2. jkcarew
    I like this ranking.
  3. jkcarew
    Agree with the argument for Martinez. And fwiw, it's unlikely that he would have been a worse first-baseman than Frank Thomas if Seattle had chosen (or needed) to play him there at any point. The point being, that we're already honoring those that contributed value only with the bat. Among the names in the article, I vote yet to Halladay, Martinez, Rivera, Mussina and Vizquel. Not sure, maybe at some point to Helton and Jones. No to all the others.
  4. jkcarew
    Thanks. It probably shouldn't be a surprise to me that Rooker makes this type of list. By all reports, he hits the ball REALLY hard...but probably more pull that optimal, and at the expense of a lot of K's. Who does that sound like . FWIW, in Chattanooga at age 22, Sano's K-rate was just under 24% and his HR-rate was 5.2%. At age 23, Rooker was at 26.4% and 3.9%. My glass-half-full take is that Rooker is going to be much more diligent in making adjustments as he advances. Here's hoping he can end up being a bit of a late-bloomer.
  5. jkcarew
    If Sano consistently hits the way he has shown he can in streaks, he's way too low. Meanwhile, if Buxton becomes a consistently serviceable hitter, only then does he justify where you already have him ranked. Apparently, with one you assume the issues remain, and the other you assume the issues are resolved. Interesting.
  6. jkcarew
    It was tongue-in-cheek. I'm not one that gnashes teeth over potential lasting impact of business decisions...even those I disagree with.
  7. jkcarew
    Can't think of one reason not to make this type of signing with this type of player, given where the Twins are. But... how is it that a potentially needle-moving free agent (and agent) chose the Twins rather than the Astros, etc.??...what with all the history of low-balling and vile treatment of players coming out of this FO. Weird.
  8. jkcarew
    I agree with others that are suggesting the Twins might identify other teams wanting to clear money...and/or part with talent with short-term control (like Puig). The obvious reason being that it would cost 'less' in prospects (as it did Cincinnati)...while returning a very short-term benefit. It seems pretty clear that the Twins are not going to part ways with big prospect capital at this time. As has been pointed out here many times on many threads the Twins are kinda stuck until they make a call on the current crop of young major league talent. I expect that by next year at this time, we are either dealing from a position of leverage (significant Buxton/Sano/Polanco/Kepler corners are turned), or are in full-blown rebuild mold. Sometime I think even the full-blown rebuild would feel better than this paralysis. I get the need to wait another year, but it's already seemed like forever.
  9. jkcarew
    What happened in those last two months was that the improved BB and K rates where happening at the expense of the HR rate. Sometimes that’s a sign of a developing player trying to make adjustments. One step back to take two forward. Or at least that’s the glass-half-full theme I’m going with for now.
  10. jkcarew
    Nick, did you just cite being the worse pitcher in baseball the 3rd time through as a reason to extent Odorizzi? Accumulating marginal starters that are willing to open or bullpen has become a goal? I’m with you on the age and the upside his previous track record suggests. Not so much on your other points...including September statistics garnered in the wasteland that was the 2018 AL Central.
  11. jkcarew
    Not super confident that Mejia will be very good. But he's 26, left-handed, and has been pretty good in the minors. So, if 2019 is going to be a 'let's see' year, then Mejia falls solidly into the category of those that you'll want to see.
  12. jkcarew
    Whenever the Rule 5 comes around, I'm reminded how much the rules around international players need to be changed. Diaz was eligible last year having cleared low A ball. It's dumb. And if they're worth protecting, it's dumber yet, needing to be put on the 40-man at a ridiculous stage of development (Polanco).
  13. jkcarew
    If you can add Cruz on a reasonable term, you do it. At that point you lose Cron or Austin. You have nothing invested in Cron...little invested in Austin. If Garver can't catch, you might have had to make a call on one of these guys even without Cruz. I'm still not convinced you'll have a 4-man bench.
  14. jkcarew
    When I watched these two play, Baines was more impressive than Smith...IMO. Maybe it's just that Baines was more consistently considered to be 'at/near the top' of his craft. Smith flashed big results, but had long periods, year-after-year stretches, where he really wasn't considered a top reliever. But he played forever. The biggest issue in my mind for Baines is that he was really a DH. Very good hitter for a long period, but not great, and was essentially a DH. I admit I'm confused about what the HoF is trying to accomplish with these types of elections. There is an obvious gap here given the unwillingness to elect the players with big results but links to steroids. But, I'd rather have no inductions than inductions that further marginalize the standards.
  15. jkcarew
    "He had an excellent 2017 and then was injured and jerked around last year.He's going about dealing with the way he was treated unfairly"... That's one example. There are more. It's not that I think feeling he was treated unfairly is an unreasonable way of looking at what happened in 2018. It's just not the way I look at it. If anything, I think denying Buxton the at-bats at the end of the year was probably a good business decision, yet a bad baseball move...might want to give your 2019 starting center-fielder some MLB at-bats to build some confidence heading into the off-season. And while I get Buxton being at least a little upset about it, I don't think it's unfair or something that should, or will, impact the business relationship in the future.
  16. jkcarew
    Hyperbole on my part. Noted. My point would be, players are not obligated to demonstrate 'loyalty'...and in fact haven't displayed loyalty...in many instances where they had been treated very well (as far as what we know) by the team that developed them. It works both way. The players are represented by arguably one of the strongest unions in the history of the country. They get things that they prioritize, or they strike.
  17. jkcarew
    Agreed. He's basically the antithesis of what modern analytics says if valuable. An out factory with no power. I saw the signing and my immediate thought was...'at least we aren't Kansas City'. Other than that world's championship 3 years ago.
  18. jkcarew
    Manipulating his service time was smart, IMO. Possibly unfavorably impact his decisions when he becomes a free agent, but not all that likely. Aside from the rare home-town preference, which was never going to apply in Buxton's case, professional athletes (and their agents) go to the team who gives them the best deal. Period. And from the Twins perspective, the extra year is an extra year. Seems that some feel it's unethical or unfair. It's neither. There's a collective bargaining agreement...including provisions for filing grievances. For every instance of FO doing something like this to a player, there are just as many instances of a team bending over backwards to meet the player's every desire, only to see him walk without a second thought the instant he can for a $ more and/or a bigger market. It's a business. Having said that, I'm happy to see Buxton pissed about it. And I don't at all blame him for being upset about it.
  19. jkcarew
    Sounds like there was a reference to the plan having a 'monthly progression'...but specific to the check-ins at the Ft. Myers facility, I think Falvey said they are weekly. Which sounds about 4.3 times better to me. Thanks for bringing this to our attention, Van! Nice long interview. For those of you that want to listen, the Falvey segments start at 15:10
  20. jkcarew
    Seems reasonable. Like some others, I wouldn't have minded more than a one-year deal given his age and (pre-2018) record. But then, maybe it was a combination of Schoop wanting to bet on himself, and the Twins FO still betting on Gordon. It's hard to wrap my head around a second-baseman (who can actually play the position) as large as Schoop is. If we had Corey Seager instead of Polanco, we'd have almost 1000 pounds of infield (not counting catcher). It's worth taking to marketing. The half-ton infield...the F-150 infield, maybe. Worth a try.
  21. jkcarew
    If Garver can play first AND an outfield corner at an acceptable level, he'd be a good utility guy, with the RHB. But, that's the only way he has much value if he isn't a catcher. An every-day 1B/DH that can be expected to OPS 720 to maybe 800 on a really good year? Sounds familiar...but I'm going to say no thanks.
  22. jkcarew
    Goalie?? Obviously, you didn't have a younger brother!
  23. jkcarew
    Adrinza's career OPS is 658 in about 900 PA...it was 680 last year. The Twins just got Torreyes to go with Schoop. Torreyes is at 685 OPS in a little over 600 MLB PA. Would I bet that Torreyes will be better offensively than Adrianza next year? Nope. But I appreciate the effort (small that it was). There is at least some reason to hope that Torreyes can be an upgrade offensively based on his minor league track record relative to Adrianza's. If nothing else it's a little competition or another option.
  24. jkcarew
    Yes, But there are a decent number of professional middle infielders...including players that have not yet had the opportunity to post a qualifying 750...that have materially better offensive upside than Adrianna...that have the potential to provide a pretty good bat in the role. Go get one of them...or at least explore the cost. Not easy, but I didn’t insinuate that it should be. And I agree that if we define “can OPS 750” to mean “has had qualifying seasons OPS’ing 750”...then you’re not realistically going to acquire that for the utility role.
  25. jkcarew
    What? As recently as 2016, the Twins extra infielder OPS’d 758. An if Polanco had been designated the extra that year...he OPS’d 730. They won 83 games. I want a guy with a better offensive upside in that role. They exist. So I guess ignorance would be bliss in my case.
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