Aerodeliria

A worthwhile read...the pitching comparison is quite an eye-opener.

I guess this posting will suffice to express my sincere gratitude for the brain trust at Twins Daily version 2018. I appreciate the yeoman's effort to offer up interesting opinions,relevant articles and fact-filled profiles of players throughout the Twins organization. Although I'm still a greenhorn on this list, I think I've gained a ton of insight from the blog, so thank you for 2018 and here's looking forward with anticipation to 2019.

PS-I believe the addition of Cruz can be a significant factor towards helping these two young hitters progress. Three cheers to the Twins for going after Cruz.

It's an interesting venture and one which naturally generates much discussion. I won't argue with most of the selections but do think that Buxton is too high. As was previously mentioned, I'd have him placed somewhere near Sano. If we think about the physical attributes and the talent potential of both players, we could arguably place them both in the top three or four; however, their problems seem to be related to their mental strength and confidence. Suggestions on how to improve at the plate, on various approaches to hitting and on various tweaks can be useful but only to a point. Once the hitter is standing in the box, their mental approach becomes the deciding factor as to how they will perform. I am hoping against hope that Rocco can cut through the fog and get these two 'stars' to start performing at a level nearer to their potential. Nevertheless, with that said, I feel that this is a much bigger task than just saying, "Let's go back to 2017."

I have no problem with putting Sano at #14; but next year at this time, if he gets himself healthy, happy and hitworthy (if it hasn't been coined, I'll take it) he could move to #3 or #4, but that is only if he becomes Nelson Cruz Junior. On the other hand even if he is healthy and isn't "transformed," he could also become Joey Gallo Junior, and for a team like the Twins, the Joey Gallo's of the world don't have much value.

"...the entire Twins lineup could stand to benefit from his knowledge." Yes, indeed; you've put it admirably. The off-season has suddenly become interesting. This is the one signing I thought the Twins had to try to make. I would love to see a game with Nelson Cruz in a Twins uniform. PS-The other super secret benefit he provides is that the Twins no longer have to face him. He has torn up the Twins pretty well over the years: AB: 257 BA: .300 RBI: 48 BB: 13 HR: 20 SLG: .626 OBP: .347 OPS: .923 [*_*]

The problem with Nishi is that they based everything on one year. He was a mediocre hitter except for the one outlier. Kikuchi has a track record.

I have seen Kikuchi pitch this year (he had some shoulder issues at the start of the year, which may have contributed to his less-than-stellar numbers by his own standards). The one game I watched he was basically unhittable (he gave up a scratch single in the 7th or 8th inning as I recall). The other game he seemed a bit off. Like most Japanese pitchers, he uses junk (i.e., splitter) to offset his fastball. His ERA was up this year from previous years, but in 2017, I thought he was the best pitcher in the league even though he didn't win the Eiji Sawamura Award (the Japanese equivalent to the Cy Young). If he returned to 2017 form, he would be a very good catch. Another benefit is that he (like most Japanese starters) is used to putting in a lot of innings. He gives up less than one home run per nine innings; that number would likely be elevated in the US, but not significantly IMHO (Japanese parks are more favorable to hitters). IMHO, his demeanor seems more like Matsuzaka than Tanaka or Ohtani--neither that kind of smoldering fire that Tanaka shows nor that happy go lucky attitude of Ohtani--somewhere between the two, but very, very competitive. Of course, I want the Twins to have a Japanese player and Kikuchi is another chance for that to happen (partly because of my own self-interest--here in Japan, the Twins only appear on TV when they are facing Japanese pitchers like Ohtani or Tanaka). In 2018, I watched maybe a dozen Angels' games and probably two or three Yankees' games and I think one Cubs' game, essentially meaning that I watched three Twins' games. I think it highly unlikely that the Twins could land him, but why not try?

Who is Robinson? I must have blacked out for a few years. I don't remember any left fielder named Robinson. Does he mean Allison?

I know that some folks won't dig the argument, but it would be nice to have a veteran presence like Cruz around to kind of keep things in perspective so to speak. I mean he is a guy with a real resume and not just a one year he did blah blah blah blah. I recall with great fondness when the 87 Twins grabbed Don Baylor from the scrap yard. His presence was a big plus--not to mention his huge home run in game five of the World Series.

I agree with Nick here. I don't hate the signing but I think that the Twins really need a player in the heart of the lineup who will happily take BBs.

100 ABs last year and only 2 walks, that's why his BA of .281 is not very impressive (.291 OBP). IDK, it just seems like there isn't much upside here.

Excellent article...and a heap of mind-bending comments to boot. Thanks everyone!

Heller's book Catch 22 just popped into my head. You know management wants to win because winning brings in fans and fans bring in money, but to get there you have to pay someone somewhere some money so you can start winning, and that's the catch; so, instead, aim at mediocrity and hope for a .510 winning percentage. You can pat yourselves on the back and say, "We did OK and who knows what next year, or the year after that will bring?" The Central Division by all indications will be incredibly weak in 2019, so why aim for 2021 or some other mystical year when all the explosive bats now hidden in the minor league happen to align with all of the cannon-like pitching arms that are hidden there? Teams do win while developing players, don't they? You don't have throw away every prospect, but do spend some cash to show the fans that there is at least a speck of concern about winning. Sorry, this just irritated me for some reason. I'm sure I'll get over it like I always do.

Pitching and the infield are two places the Twins need help. I think they are not that far from being very, very competitive--especially in the Central Heating Division. I'd like to land at least one infielder of decent quality. To be frank, I'm not really all that comfortable with Polanco winging throws from the shortstop side of 2nd base.

Besides the cash, no downside. With Grossman likely gone, the OBP has to be a HUGE concern for the Twins as Tom so adroitly pointed to in this piece. Walks in key situations are very exasperating for the team in the field, while strikeouts are exasperating to the team at the plate. I'm 100% behind putting Santana in Twins pinstripes. (Besides, it just doesn't seem normal not to have a player named Santana on the roster.)

Not me, but Polanco is 25, not 35. It was good for him to get busted and that it happened when it did. Cano's case is much different--10 years older and unless he was super good at the cover up, clean up untl last year.

I went over to the Mets blogosphere. The consensus seems to be that they hashed it. Here is one such post: Kelenic and Dunn are two top 100 prospects. I think that is roughly what Diaz is worth. Maybe slightly more, but not McNeil more (as I said elsewhere I don’t think I’d do Diaz for McNeil straight up). I also think Cano would probably get 5 years 50-60 million on the open market (although a lot of reporters have been speculating ~30 million). That is 60-70 million in negative value. I think Bruce and Swarzak are probably ~25 million under water. So, if we get Cano and Diaz for Kelenic, Dunn, Bruce, Swarzak and Gerson (which I think is what is being reported) and they chip in ~40 million I think that is a fair deal. But, just because it is fair value doesn’t mean it makes sense for the Mets to do. We are giving up a lot of future talent for an elite RP when the market for good RP is flooded and RP are very volatile. We are also buying high on Diaz, he will most likely never put up a season like the one he just did. I think full assessment of the deal needs to wait until we see the $$ and what other moves they make. If they then go out and sigh Miller, Ottavino and Grandal + I can maybe get behind it. Although, I also know some people are very high on Kelenic as a prospect.

I wouldn't give up a ballpark frank for Cano. There is a reason to juice at 35. I wonder what their fans think.

Love it!! I especially like the Astudillo line of thinking. I am not crazy about moving May, but I think the balance of the remaining choices sounds very exciting. I know that Astudillo will not likely keep his BA where it was at the end of last year, but we need a little Kirbyism in the line up to bring excitement back to the Twins. You don't think with promotion that Astudillo could bring in fans? That alone should be enough to get Astudillo in a Twins uniform and on the field as much as possible.

As a fielder, not really that efficient nor impressive, but as a hitter in high leverage situations, it is surprising how often he milked a walk or worked the count in his favor so he could get a pitch he could handle. And, as far as hit weak hitting at the start of last year, I can't overlook the fact that having Buxton, Morrison and Wilson in his vicinity in the batting order really didn't help matters.

Yes, very nice article, and I would keep Grossman over Adrianza if I had a choice of the two. Neither have much power but I like the fact that Grossman will always make the pitchers throw strikes. I'd take a flier on Sonny Gray if the price is cheap enough. (As the rule of thumb goes, you can never have too much pitching...especially in the era when most teams lose a pitcher or two for part or all of a season). NY is a super high pressure environment--all the time...you gotta love that kind of atmosphere and some players handle it better than others. Maybe Mr. Gray didn't thrive is said environment (on that note some teams handle the NY pressure better than others as well (I'm thinking of Bosox compared to the Twinkies here)).

"Riding a frenzied ten-speed. Man, it must be the world's easiest job. Fighting and flirting and restart, restart, restart. Well, it may work your whole life; it hasn't for me for so much as a week before everything crumbles, crumbles..." Let's hope the "restart, restart, restart" option works out and not that "everything crumbles, crumbles," in such a short period of time next spring.

There has been a lot of scuttlebutt about Hidenberger's problems. There were indicators that something wasn't quite the same after he took a severe beat down against the Cubs. He seemed to right the ship for a bit and then it all went south. In his final 30 games of the Twins' season, he posted Ricky Nolasco like numbers: Last 30 games Record: 2-4 ERA: 9.00 Innings: 27.0 HIts: 37 BB: 12 SO: 27 WHIP: 1.81 First 43 games Record 2-2 ERA: 2.71 Innings: 46 Hits: 38 BB: 14 SO: 43 WHIP: 1.13 Pretty dramatic...maybe he was just worn out (73 games)...any ideas?

I guess the clock is running on Hayato Sakamoto. I really thought he would ask the Giants to post him, but maybe he decided he'd rather just stay in Tokyo. He probably has five more years of top quality baseball left in him I would say. He keeps himself in great shape but I wonder if interest has waned because of his age...