Jump to content
Twins Daily
  • Create Account

Otaknam

Verified Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    1,120

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Profiles

News

Minnesota Twins Videos

2026 Minnesota Twins Top Prospects Ranking

2022 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

Minnesota Twins Free Agent & Trade Rumors, Notes, & Tidbits

Guides & Resources

2023 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

The Minnesota Twins Players Project

2024 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

2025 Minnesota Twins Draft Pick Tracker

Forums

Blogs

Events

Store

Downloads

Gallery

Everything posted by Otaknam

  1. Otaknam
    “It was reported that he (Correa) provided a list of players to Falvey that he wanted to see the Twins target, and after seeing them bring in a complete nobody, I can imagine him quitting on the organization.” I’m not aware of Correa providing a list, but if he did it would be inappropriate, even for a de facto clubhouse leader. Winning solves a lot of issues, But when a veteran team is losing the undercurrent will be strong and will contribute to team malaise.
  2. Otaknam
    Larnach, Lewis, and Wallner have all been disappointing this year. Lewis is the most disappointing, given that he looked like a real impact player. Now he can’t hit a sweeper and seems to be trying to pull everything. Wallner and Larnach are stuck in neutral. I’m not sure what their RISP is, but it’s nothing to be proud of. Lee looks like an average player, is on pace to hit 18-20 homers and 65 rbi. Not great but not awful. Culpepper looks like the shortstop of the future, hopefully next year. With Keaschall proving his value offensively and at second, and if Lewis finds his stroke next year, Lee might be relegated as a backup.
  3. Otaknam
    A excellent summary of the Twins catching depth. Thanks for putting it together. Looking forward to similar columns for each position.
  4. Otaknam
    I think you are correct starting most college players at low A. . It’s much better to start young players where they are likely to experience success, rather than have them struggle their first year. So start low, have success, and build on that.
  5. Otaknam
    A glimmer of hope in a disappointing season. Really hoping that Abel’s command keeps improving and he emerges as an excellent starter.
  6. Otaknam
    Lewis has not produced and has been a major disappointment this year, IMO. Hopefully he can recover from this down year and regain his confidence and stroke. But it looks like the pitchers have figured him out, as he flails away a sweepers six inches off the plate and tries to pull everything and loses his balance.
  7. Otaknam
    It seems like every time I look at the box score I see an unknown reliever just signed off the scrap heap. What a disappointment that the bullpen now has a direct line to the waiver wire. And I was not against most of the trades, just Varland and Jax. Given that the team underperformed again this year, the players who are free agents after this season did need to be dealt. Hopefully some of the players they got in return are very good.
  8. Otaknam
    Thanks for the update on the traded pieces. The team prior to the trades was not going anywhere with the injuries to Ober and Lopez, and the underperforming players like Correa, Wallner, Larnach, and Lewis. All of the trades were justifiable given the contract situation, except Varland and Jax. They are betting that two of the group of Abel, Bradley and Rojas will be mid rotation or better, so the starting pitching depth is clearly better. It’s much harder to find solid starters than relievers, so the Varland and Jax trades for SP make some sense. Catching depth is much better, too. Tait has a chance to be an impact player, though at least two years or more away. Ryan Gallagher, acquired in the Castro trade, is having an excellent year in A+ and AA, with a 1.08 WHIP over 100+ innings, a positive sign. So he’s a guy to keep an eye on as a mid rotation starter.
  9. Otaknam
    Silly clickbait column. There is no way that MLB would let this team move. Great ballpark, engaged fan base if they have a decent product to cheer, and profitable franchise if run correctly. The problems are ownership not spending enough on the product, and front office and manager.
  10. Otaknam
    Of course Rocco is happy with this news. He will get a longer contract and longer leash, despite his inability to manage a game with an occasional hit and run, stolen base when least expected, and an over reliance on analytics. And the bullpen, thanks to the trades, is a shell of its former self now stacked with unknown 30 something journeymen. Hard to watch a flailing team with an incompetent at the helm.
  11. Otaknam
    The Pohlad budget cutting, questionable front office, and inept Rocco have managed to turn a playoff team in 2023 into the shell of its former self. Sadly, if the sell off continues this winter by trading Lopez and/or Ryan, this entire group will lord over the malaise they have all contributed to.
  12. Otaknam
    Rocco has no instincts as a manager. All decisions are based on analytics, no manager intuition required. Once in awhile he should show confidence in a starter to go another inning, despite what his computer tells him. No wonder Sonny Gray, and probably others, wanted out because Rocco didn’t trust him to pitcher deeper into games. it appears we are stuck with him going forward.
  13. Otaknam
    A predictable outcome, considering this team has had waaay too many games where they score several early runs and goose eggs the rest of the way. Lack of clutch hitting and pathetic RISP stats have doomed this team all year. And Lewis is a shell of what we saw a couple of years ago. What happened to him, aside from trying to pull everything and an inability to hit a breaking pitch on the outer half of the plate? Maybe I just answered my own question.
  14. Otaknam
    I hope you are right, but it would not surprise if either or both Ryan and Lopez are traded this offseason, and the team completes its rebuild by also dealing Buxton if he approves. The Twins DO have the potential for a solid and possibly strong starting pitching rotation next year, with a lot of young arms depth. But their success depends on Larnach, Wallner, and Lewis to get better. And for the youth movement to come through with Keaschall, Jenkins, EROD, Culpepper, and the starters they received by trade.
  15. Otaknam
    It’s not complicated. Abel seems to have good stuff and a very good fastball, but he needs to improve his command. If he can do that he has a chance to be an effective starter.
  16. Otaknam
    Culpepper is the obvious heir apparent at shortstop, given his great arm, excellent defense, and offensive profile that shows some power.
  17. Otaknam
    Whether a trade makes sense depends on a lot of factors, not just years of control. I was shocked that they traded both Jax and Varland, but once they traded Correa it was clear that they wouldn’t compete anytime soon, and certainly not this year or next. So I understand the Varland and Jax trades, hoping they got value. The lefty Rojas they got from Toronto in the Varland trade has the potential to be an excellent trade. He is in AAA and has a very good minor league track record for ERA, walk/strikeout ratio. And he’s a lefty, which would really help. I am cautiously optimistic on the Bradley and Abel trades, Abel more than Bradley. But it’s not easy to correct a command problem, so let’s hope the Twins pitching development process helps these starters.
  18. Otaknam
    It’s a big decision to move a pitcher to the bullpen. They have to be sure that starting is not viable going forward, so some track record of that is needed. I disagree with one poster who suggested Matthews in the bullpen. Zebby has had several very successful starts and some clunkers too. But he is tough when he is on, so I see no reason to move him to the bullpen yet. Speaking of the bullpen, it is now littered with waiver projects in Tonkin, Hatch, Ramirez, Kriske, Davis, Misiewicz, Urena, Duarte, McCaughan. Most of these guys I never heard of, and obviously the FO prefers scrap heap pitchers to starting the arbitration clock on some AAA guys who could use some experience in the big leagues. It’s pretty disappointing to see 35 year old journeymen pitchers on this rebuilding team, instead of building for next year and beyond. Can’t wait for a change in ownership, front office, and manager too.
  19. Otaknam
    Austin Martin and Alan Rosen are playing great?
  20. Otaknam
    Keaschall is the only real bright spot on this year’s team, given its implosion that started last August. While Buxton, when healthy, and Ryan have been excellent, Keaschall gives fans an exciting player to watch this year. That, along with hopefully seeing Zebby, Taj Bradley, and Abel improve, are the only reasons to watch the team. And tracking the success of their top minor leaguers like Jenkins, EROD, Culpepper, and others.
  21. Otaknam
    The difference between the two is the Ryan has always been a strike thrower, while Abel is not. According to this article, he is improving his command. But the big leagues are littered with guys who had great stuff but had a hard time throwing strikes and thus flamed out. Tait is likely three years away. And while he is a very promising prospect, the success of this trade depends mostly on Abel becoming a viable starter. If not, the trade of Duran that weakens the team will be another black mark on the FO.
  22. Otaknam
    I would wait on an extension for Keaschall. Let’s see how the rest of the season goes. When Royce Lewis came up he was electric. Right now he is a marginal big leaguer who doesn’t hit for power or with RISP. That’s not sustainable in the big leagues. Hopefully he finds his stroke again and can put behind him that “he doesn’t do slumps”, because his has been in one all year.
  23. Otaknam
    Totally disagree on Lewis. He has struggled offensively all year, and is on a downward spiral if he doesn’t figure it out. His approach at the plate is hard to watch. He tries to pull everything and cannot hit a sweeper because of his pull happy approach. His struggles reminds me of Miguel Sano, who, early in his career, looked like a young Miguel Cabrera until he tried to pull everything and couldn’t hit a curveball. Lewis’ 2025 OPS is .649. The average OPS in Major League Baseball for the 2025 season is 718, so he is hurting the team offensively. Somehow they need to get him straightened out, because right now he is a below average player at a premium offensive position. That’s not sustainable.
  24. Otaknam
    Obviously, Culpepper is the heir apparent at shortstop, with his combination of slick defense, good arm, and strong offensive numbers. Hopefully, Houston continues to hit and has some power. However, I disagree with other postings about Lewis at third. He is a major disappointment offensively. I don’t know what happened to his swing, bringing memories of how far Miguel Sano fell because he tried to pull everything. Lewis has the same issue and cannot hit a sweeper, or almost anything for that matter. Maybe the future infield has Lee at third, Culpepper at short and Houston at second, though Lee isn’t a sure thing.
  25. Otaknam
    Some of the criticism of Lee is appropriate. His OPS and exit velocity are too low, and he doesn’t bring much speed to the lineup. He does have double figures in home runs, so he’s not a disaster at SS. But turning Correa’s comment about the Twins not wanting him to play third base into a criticism of Lee is misplaced. The Twins are hoping that Lewis regains his swing and can be a fixture at third. So moving Correa to third would have meant finding a position switch for Lewis, but it’s too early to do that. Also, with Culpepper raking in AA and apparently showing excellent defense, it’s hard to understand how SS is a black hole in the system. And Marek Houston is having a strong start to his first season and is producing both offensively and especially on defense, a positive sign.
×
×
  • Create New...