bean5302

Since he ended last year at 3.0 inning outings, I'd think he'd pick back up there for maybe April. April 3.0 inning, 50 pitches max May 4.0 inning, 60 pitches max June 4.0 inning. 70 pitches max July 5.0 inning. 75 pitches max August 5.0 inning. 80 pitches max September 6.0 inning. 85 pitches max 100 innings-ish total Something like that is what I'd expect to see, though obviously not that steady on a start to start basis. I think a lot of it depends on whether or not Prielipp can remain healthy. It's a tall call since Prielipp has mostly been out of action for so long. Will his conditioning hold up or will he start having fatigue during the long season? That 98mph in mid-Feb isn't necessarily a great thing if he's pushing like it's a tryout and risking his arm. I also don't think there's almost any chance of seeing Prielipp out of the 'pen at the MLB level. He's not on the 40 man and he doesn't need to be added until this offseason. The Twins shouldn't need to manage his innings late in the year, and while he'll probably start off in AA, that's still a lot of ground to cover where he'll have to A) be outstanding B) remain healthy where the Twins C) have a real need for a reliever and D) will trust an unproven MiLB player to provide those reliever innings.

Like 5 days ago Miranda was "going to get a lot of work over there" shifting to now where it feels like Baldelli has practically endorsed France as the every day guy.

Still BURNS me the Twins gave more opportunities to Kyle Garlick than they did Brent Rooker.

This is a huge year for Varland. I think the Twins have seen all they're willing to see of Varland in the rotation. He hasn't been lights out in the bullpen, either, though. .261/.301/.426 OPS .727 against. 6.44 ERA, 3.54 FIP as a reliever. He's had the same issue as a reliever as he had as a starter. His pitches don't have plus movement enough against MLB hitters so those hitters have been able to square the ball up too frequently. The good news is as a reliever, Varland can adjust his repertoire to eliminate less effective offerings altogether to further refine his best stuff. That may elevate his game. Varland certainly is better out of the 'pen, but it remains to be seen if he's a mop up guy or a steady middle innings option. Taking a step forward as a true bullpen weapon seems a bit of a reach to me right now.

Christian Vazquez, your new right fielder when a lefty gets up in the opposing bullpen, LOL

Think so? Shipping Castellano back to the Phillies before even seeing an MLB game? I don't actually have the stats on how many Rule 5 guys never see opening day, but I'd imagine it's fairly rare to offer guys back before they get any MLB time.

Austin Martin MLB #22 prospect 2021 (with Twins) MLB #52 prospect 2022 In my opinion, you're both overvaluing Lee, and undervaluing Martin, historically in terms of how they were viewed from a scouting profile. Yes, Martin dropped a whopping 30 spots to #52 in all of MLB. a22 AA Lee 399 PA .292/.365/.476 OPS .841, ISO .183, wRC+ 120 a22 AA Martin 418 PA .270/.414/.382 OPS .796, ISO .112, wRC+ 128 Both were considered to have elite hit tools, but Martin was also considered a potential plus runner. Lee was graded a little higher in power, and a much more sure fielder. At the EoY 2021, Fangraphs, MLB, Prospects1500 all had Martin #1. By the end of 2022, people had cooled on him, and 2023 was just as bad for Martin. Martin's exit velocities suggested he had some 45/50 grade power potential (probably where Lee really is), but his flat swing produces too many ground balls. Many people feel like the Twins were unfairly trying to turn Martin into a slugger in 2021, but it seems more like the Twins were just trying to get that 45/50 grade power to play into doubles and occasional home runs at this point. For Martin to hit more like Miranda in terms of power. Lee was pretty miserable in 168 PA in AAA during 2023, but in 114 PA he was great in 2024, but Lee's .298 ISO driven by 8 HR in that tiny stretch suggested severe regression was on its way unless you believe he's a 30-40 HR slugger. The book isn't closed on Lee, but there are plenty of rippling red flags at the beach at this point. Stuff which would be better off noted rather than risking being swept out to sea.

Austin Martin was acknowledged as one of MLB's most ready prospects a few years ago, and Martin is quite a bit more athletic than Lee.

Only ones leaving the organization, heh.

Brooks Lee looks like an old-timey baseball player and I like it. Anyway, his back may have impacted his game last year, but honestly, it seemed like he was more limited by his swing speed and ability to catch up to MLB fastballs. The biggest thing which may be holding Lee back is his conditioning. He could benefit greatly by adding some speed and strength to get that swing speed up. Have to wait and see on him. Adding some physical ability is much easier than adding the ability to recognize pitches and the skills needed for smooth fielding.

Brooks Lee was very rough at the MLB level. He showed the limits of his athleticism matched criticism in scouting reports. If he puts up another 200+ plate appearances which look like last year, his MLB career will be limited to utility/spotty playing time and the clock will start on his opportunities going forward.

Eiberson Castellano is my pick. If he can learn to get that first pitch strike rate up, he could be very good.

I feel like I've talked about what constitutes an "ace" to me a few times. There are a set of criteria which need to be met or expected. It basically boils down to fan confidence. Fans should expect their team will win the game when their ace is on the mound. Stat-wise, something like this: 1) Season ERA under 3.30. 2) 75%+ of starts ending with at least 5.0 innings and an ERA under 4.00. 3) 75%+ of starts ending with at least 6.0 innings and 3 or fewer ER. 4) Streaks of at least 4-5 games in a row meeting #2/3 Joe Ryan is pitching in his age 29 season, folks. He's long since left the world of prospects and he's nearing the age where his velocity is likely to start declining. He's never had an ace season in his career or even close to it. The question could be could Joe Ryan become a #2 or establish himself as a reliable #3. Ace shouldn't even be in the discussion.

I hear 2 packets of 20 year old Original flavor Quaker Instant Oatmeal the Pohlads found under Carl's abandoned desk in the family home took Headrick's spot.

Canterino is. All 40 man roster guys are invited to Spring Training. No word on whether or not Canterino has injured himself playing nerdy board games that I've seen. I'm not sure why people are excited about Canterino at this point. His stuff is supposedly great, but he's barely even played at the AA level and he hasn't pitched in years. Canterino fanned a lot of batters in AA back 3 years ago, but he also walked a ton. He kinda feels like a J.T. Chargois ceiling to me right now. Prielipp is not. Prielipp is not on the 40 man and was not invited to MLB Spring Training. There is every reason for the Twins to continue pushing him down the starter path to answer questions on his future rather than slowing his progress and avoiding answering questions by putting him into the bullpen. If I were to hazard a guess, Prielipp will start the season in AA making 3.0-4.0 inning starts, stretching to 5.0-6.0 innings by mid year. Similar to what we saw with Raya last year.

Alvarez got a shot at MLB last year and went .243/.282/.270 OPS .522 wRC+ 62 in a SSS of 39 plate appearances. While his BB was very poor, his K rate wasn't abominable, but in that 39 plate appearance run, he had only 1 extra base hit, a double. He'll be 30 this year and had a .359 BABIP at AAA that explains a lot of his triple slash. He was well below average at AA/AAA through age 26. Just looks like he's polished up with experience, but probably lacks the actual talent necessary to shine at the MLB level. Speas is potentially more interesting. The only team he pitched against in MLB last year was the Twins so I wonder if the staff saw something they liked? Fangraphs loves, loves, loves, loves velocity so they're high on his pitches grading his fastball, slider and cutter as 60 grades. That said, he walks between 1.5 and 2.0 batters PER INNING, literally up to 15+ BB/9 in significant samples. He walked 21 guys in just 8 innings pitching for the Red Sox AAA. He's bounced through Texas, Boston, White Sox, Oakland and Houston systems. Could be a Simeon Woods Richardson type who refuses to be coached until the end of the career road? I refuse to believe it's not a mechanical issue. If Speas is finally willing to be coached to repeat mechanics and throw strikes 1 of 2 things will likely happen. 1. His pitches will become easy to hit (I expect this one). 2. He'll be elite.

Btw, Miranda has two 3/4 seasons (125 G and 121 G) and he hit .268/.325/.426 OPS .751 wRC+ 116 in the first one and .284/.322/.441 OPS .763 wRC+ 115 in the second one. I see you changed the goalposts to needing a full season. Well, hate to break this to you, but Rocco "Broken Macro" Baldelli platoons his guys. Getting to a "full season" under Baldelli is nearly impossible.

Honestly, when it comes to this management team, I don't have a clue what to think. I feel like Falvey and his team have always tried to play a game to keep people guessing as if it's the NFL and other teams are preparing a total game plan around countering a single player on the Twins. These types of endorsements from Baldelli seem to signal he's already made a decision based on my memory. Personally, I'd be asking for a trade if I were Jose Miranda or Royce Lewis. I'd want to go to a team that values me.

The owners aren't supposed to be the ones with the rudder. Falvey was given more power than he's ever had, and he's steering the ship.

When it comes to Lewis, this will be an important year. He's going to need to prove he can throw strikes, and that hitters won't be able to crush his pitches when he does. Raya's big test is durability. Morris needs to prove his stuff works at AAA. Keaschall's bat is going to be tested at AAA. Rodriguez is probably going to be pretty successful at AAA. His test will be at the MLB level.

The Baseball Bat Bros on youtube tested out some historic bats. Honus Wagner, Joe Jackson, Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Jackie Robinson, etc. Fun video to watch for sure. I don't think much can be pulled in terms of swing speed from Royce Lewis. The guy couldn't even run by the end of the year with major lower body injuries that sapped all his athleticism.

I think Will Holland is probably the highest likelihood of a primary "shortstop" being added to the 40 man roster and receiving playing time this season. Will Holland Level - AAA Acquired - 2019 Drafted by the Twins, 5th round out of Auburn Holland will be 27 this year and is known as a slick fielding defensive specialist without a good bat. He's appeared on various Twins top prospect lists, but hasn't been an elite prospect as his bat hasn't really played well. Last year, in a relatively small sample size, Holland's bat showed up in big way. Power he'd never shown before coming from an elevated BABIP supported by a crazy high line drive rate. Holland has cut down his strike out rate dramatically over the past two seasons while also earning promotions. If Holland has found a way to tap into his potential at the plate, he could be a good player (don't see elite upside here), but there will need to be more proof at AAA this year. It's a real bummer he broke his leg and missed most of the season as a result.

Projected by whom? As of right now (3:37PM Central Time on Thursday, February 13th) on the Twins' official MLB site, Ty France doesn't appear on the depth chart at any position, period. https://www.mlb.com/twins/roster/depth-chart As far as 1B, it's listed as Jose Miranda -> Eduoard Julien -> Mickey Gasper right now.

Also, there's a fairly high degree of likelihood the Yankees will also DFA Headrick and try to pass him through waivers as rosters tighten up. It's a common practice to claim, then DFA again. Worthy of a 40 man roster spot for a day, haha.

Probably just have to make a note to skip Labuza's articles unless you really like the hard core leftist politics.