Jump to content
Our top free agent ranking is up to 75 names; click here to check it out! ×
Twins Daily
  • Create Account

jkcarew

Old-Timey Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    5,619

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    6

 Content Type 

Profiles

Minnesota Twins News, Rumors & Analysis

Minnesota Twins Videos

2026 Minnesota Twins Top Prospect Rankings

2022 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks & Signing Bonuses

Minnesota Twins Trade & Free Agent Rumors

Minnesota Twins Fan Guides & Resources

2023 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks & Signing Bonuses

The Minnesota Twins Players Project

2024 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks & Signing Bonuses

2025 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks & Signing Bonuses

2026 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks & Signing Bonuses

Forums

Blogs

Events

Store

Downloads

Gallery

Everything posted by jkcarew

  1. jkcarew
    As mentioned…needs to improve BOTH command and velocity. Can definitely happen still, but usually doesn’t happen ‘all-of-a-sudden’. Even a move to the bullpen, by itself, doesn’t solve the command challenge. In small sample AAA relief outings, the K/BB ratio popped, but HR% and SLG were actually worse than his starter outings. Agree, he still looks the part of a legit prospect. But…at least for the Twins…the expiration date on that status could expire quicker than we might think if he can’t add value in Minneapolis.
  2. jkcarew
    It wouldn’t surprise me if (when an injury happens) Martin is promoted to play every day, and Gordon remained in the utility role. (Predicated on Martin playing well in AAA, of course.)
  3. jkcarew
    I think he’s turning out to be a high floor guy rather than a high ceiling guy. And that’s OK, That kind of defensive flexibility, baserunning, combined with the ability to make contact and take walks plays very well in a lineup full of power/KO guys. To me he seems like Nick Gordon with better OBP skills. I’ll take that. I can see Gordon getting another chance, but the leash should be short…he and Martin seem redundant…and the right handed bat fits better, I think.
  4. jkcarew
    IMO, had to get a right-handed bat…hoping against hope that it would be a CF option. I’m guess MAT now…it can’t be Castro or Gordon, can it??
  5. jkcarew
    Further, this was D2 baseball…quality/consistency of defense, fields, as uneven as the opposition. It’s a completely different environment than 95% of mid-round college drafties. Background is more Nick Anderson than David Festa. Same floor, higher ceiling.
  6. jkcarew
    Late bloomer (by today’s standards)…was pretty much a non-prospect in HS. Then to a D2 college. They should (and probably will) take their time with him. His background and freak athleticism warrants patience. Huge upside for a ‘throw in’…but I don’t expect him to be ready, even in a best-case scenario (at least as a starter) until at least 2026.
  7. jkcarew
    You willing to bet on that? He’s played 100 games in center one time in his career. That was 7 seasons ago. Since then, he’s topped out at 86. If he miraculously, somehow, makes 100 games in 2024…as unlikely as that is…it leaves 60+ for someone else, some of which, in all likelihood, would be playoff games, (if the Twins make it).
  8. jkcarew
    No. But, I wouldn’t prioritize a RH bat, platoon-type, for CF depth…I’d prioritize the best all-around player at CF I can get. So, I’m HOPING that someone is out there (probably in a trade) that gets us more than a MAT. This is what I think they should be trying for before settling on a MAT. (MAT would be better than nothing, though.)
  9. jkcarew
    So, we should keep an often injured veteran at a position where we have an option (maybe two with Lee) that can be nearly as valuable in 2024…more valuable in the case of another Polanco injury?…And for a good opportunity to improve the back of the rotation in 2024? I’m not convinced the trade (on paper) makes the team worse in 2024. We’ll see, though.
  10. jkcarew
    IMO, they need an center fielder that adds value even if he has to play every day. Not a RH platoon option. Because we KNOW he’ll have to play every day for long stretches. (And that ain’t MAT). Such is probably only available in a trade.
  11. jkcarew
    Versailles had 4 consecutive season’s (at least)…62-65 where about any team in baseball would have been thrilled with him being their shortstop. Offensively, 65 was head and shoulders above all other years in his career…(although 63 and 64 were solid offensive years)…but he was a premier fielder at THE premier defensive position for a long stretch, regardless of what WAR says (doesn’t say) about his value.
  12. jkcarew
    And 62, when his defense was so impressive, he got MVP votes.
  13. jkcarew
    Two all-star appearances, two gold gloves, two years appearing on MVP leaderboard…over three different years; 94 runs scored and a 104 OPS+ in a fourth year. Nothing at all close to a “one hit wonder”.
  14. jkcarew
    Thanks…although, doesn’t change my take on Miranda for 2024…performance or injury, he’s not a guy a serious team would pencil in as a starter next season. No defensive flexibility or value and big questions offensively now. Of course, the Twins are flashing obvious signs of not being a serious team next year, so…
  15. jkcarew
    “The key to the Twins offseason is Buxton’s Health” Really? For the sixth year in a row that’s the key?? Just cross our fingers and hope he becomes good offensively over the coarse of a full season and also available over a full season? Not one, but TWO things he’s almost never done? When, if ever, do we acknowledge he’s no longer the best or most valuable player on the team? The team has been better with him in the past…but that’s the past…they certainly weren’t better with him last year. And it makes zero sense to wish and hope that that’s going to reverse coarse in a significant and lasting way as the physical issues pile up and he heads deeper into his 30’s. Let’s find some starting pitching. A bat, and a new center fielder. Buxton will find plenty of playing time if available. But, if the success of 2024 is riding on his performance and availability, let’s fire the FO now. I refuse to accept Buxton’s issues being a source for coulda/shoulda nonsense for yet another season. I might be a fool, but I’m not THAT much of a fool.
  16. jkcarew
    Don’t think you can hang it completely on the shoulder. He was really bad right from the beginning…well before he missed any time with the shoulder. But the main point is, given the mixed/short track record, and his health, in 2024 he shouldn’t be considered as a first-choice at any position for a team that truly wants to compete for a pennant, IMO. Depth piece only in 2024…hopefully.
  17. jkcarew
    Last year, Miranda established himself as a well-below-average AAA hitter. Maybe he figures it out eventually, but he’s not knocking on the 2024 door in any way shape or form…and seems highly questionable even as a prospect given how far the bat is from where it would need to play at 1B and/or DH. The only current motivation to ‘clear a path’ for Miranda would be to save money.
  18. jkcarew
    The ‘67 team probably should be in the top 10…even if it would knock out one of the division-winning clubs. No divisions in 1967. 2nd place in the American League. And actually won the season series against Boston 11-7. But, 2 of those 7 losses were the difference in the season-ending series at Fenway. 4 Hall-of Famers…5 guys in the top 20 for MVP. Cesar Tovar credited with appearing in 163 games…at least 6 games played at 6 different positions. Oh…and the first year I attended a Twins game. (Not that that factors into my ranking whatsoever 😉)
  19. jkcarew
    To believe these trade values for Jeffers would be to believe other teams value him more than the Twins do (or at least more than Rocco does). Rocco clearly valued Jeffers less as a catcher than he did Vasquez…playing Jeffers more than 150 innings less than Vasquez at the position…even despite Vasquez being a perpetual black hole offensively. I realize Jeffers cost/control/age add to his trade value, but I don’t think it adds up to what is generally depicted in these proposals.
  20. jkcarew
    He’s someone who was good at the high-A level at age 20. That’s great. But it’s not like he dominated. Struggled with K’s…improved as the season progressed to get his K rate just under 30% by year end. My sense from watching him on MiLB is that the defense would probably play ok. But the bat isn’t ready for major league pitching. Also, he has some moments where it seems like there could be some maturity issues. (None of this is a knock on him…he’s 20) To take that player and have him jump all the way to every-day center-fielder in the majors, would be something the 2021 Detroit Tigers might have done. It’s a total tank/rebuild move. Maybe, Longenhagen thinks that the payroll issues are such that the FO will be willing (or ‘forced’) to go directly from competing in 2023 to a tank/reset in 2024?
  21. jkcarew
    The Twins need a quality STARTING center-fielder, not a back-up. Why would Buxton’s health (as reported) heading into a season even matter? It never has. SOMETIMES, it impacts which two-thirds of the season he misses…that’s about it. Hope is wonderful. It’s not a plan.
  22. jkcarew
    I don’t think it’s complicated, or surprising. With Gray…you’re not going to lock into yet another (Buxton, Correa) $25M+ salary on a $100M-and-change payroll. And with Maeda, at this stage of his career, FO doesn’t see enough delta between him and the cheaper (and younger) guys they already have.
  23. jkcarew
    Clueless. Not a good look for Fangraphs.
  24. jkcarew
    Don’t profile similarly defensively at all. Gallo is generally good defensively…and plays the outfield. Severino is generally NOT good and plays the infield. Severino wouldn’t have a sliver of the defensive value Gallo provided. Meanwhile, we can HOPE that Severino could be more valuable offensively than Gallo.
  25. jkcarew
    I’m on board with a quality right-handed 1B/DH bat. That would go a long way toward improving/stabilizing the offense. Gotta pretend that Buxton doesn’t exist (other than the contract…sigh). He’s not a great DH regardless. Also, there’s a difference between shoulder surgery being “medically” successful, and shoulder surgery that restores the ability to hit major league pitching at a high level without regression or reinjury. Kirilloff remains a house of cards, until he proves otherwise. Meanwhile, Miranda did nothing to re-establish himself in St. Paul…in fact, he did the opposite of that.
×
×
  • Create New...