Twinsoholic

Please accept my pardon if someone has made the following point already. One way to look at the draft is to contextualize it in terms of the current top 10 Twins prospects (I'm only counting guys currently in the minors or in extended spring training). My guess is that most people's lists will look something like this: Buxton Sano Meyer Berrios Stewart Rosario Thorpe Polanco May Vargas Where would Gordon fit in on this list? Usually your #1 pick cracks the top 10 prospect list. Similarly, where would Nola and Freeland and Jackson and Kolek and the pitcher from Hartford and Tookie fit into this top 10? My own preference is for a pitcher. I would place Gordon at #9 or #10 in the list. He might be a top 3 prospect in several years. I would place Nola and the Hartford pitcher higher. Any review of Baseball America's top ten lists for teams shows that it is not unusual for a majority of the players to have low-level major league careers. Pitchers can always be dealt for position players. It is harder to deal the latter for significant pitchers. I'll be interested in any responses.

Melky Mesa was just acquired by the Blue Jays along with TWins' old friend, P. J. Walters. For cash! Now, trade for Melky with the Jays.

Mauer is really playing average baseball this season. 2 strikeouts today. His average is around .280, and he only has 14 rbis. He certainly is not playing like a superstar. I hope he starts playing that way soon.

Didn't Gibson recently give up a homer (not last game) after something did not go as hoped in the field? I make be confusing Gibson with another starter, but it seemed to me it was him.

I would hope that Hudson Boyd learns to be a strong starting pitcher, and I Hope Harrison adds more poser and at least 25 points to his batting average. The other breakout player needs to be Corey Williams. Two others to keep an eye on are the Florida high school outfielder taken around round 20 a couple of years ago and summers at AA (also hope Baxendale improves at AA).

About a month and a half ago Patrick Reusse published an article on the Twins' International signings, and if I remember correctly, there were at least 8 or 9 names of players he listed that the Twins have already signed since the International signing period began.

I agree with Mike. Trade Dozier while his value is so high. Look at Plouffe two years ago. 24 home runs. Trade Dozier for pitching much as Span and Revere were traded. Put Beresford at 2nd base for the upcoming season.

A similar argument to the one Thrylos can be made for Baxendale who dominated A+ ball and was only so-so in his promotion to New Britain. One could argue that Rogers' numbers at Fort Meyers also could have meant a promotion to New Britain along with Baxendale or shortly after Baxendale. How certain is anyone that Rogers would have continued to dominate? I have nothing against Rogers. It is great to have a lefty starter have success. However, I think that Seth's selection does not take into consideration the fact that others--Baxendale and Albers and Summers--were challenged at higher levels. I would give the "award" to Albers because he pitched so well at AAA. I certainly hope Rogers has similar success at New Britain next year.

Here's my observation (call it a pipe dream if you will). The Twins do the following this offseason: 1. Draft a lively armed starting pitcher who can be kept on the roster in the pen as long man(no Terry Doyle's--someone who throws hard). This player adds starter depth after his full season in the pen. 2. Sign Phil Hughes or a free-agent with upside like Hughes 3. Sign Tanaka from Japan 4. The addition of Hughes and another free agent (such as Tanaka) gives the Twins starting pitching depth for the first time in a long time, so the Twins could trade Sam Deduno to a team that needs starting pitching and that has a shortstop blocked from reaching the majors by that team's current ss. 5. Make a second trade--this time for a young starting pitcher who is either mlb ready or already in the big leagues but on a team with 5 more starters ahead of the guy the TWins trade for. I'm sure someone out there can suggest a pitcher who fits this profile. For this pitcher, whomever he is, the Twins send something like the following: Jared Burton, Trevor May, Rogers (lefty starter at High A Fort Meyers), and Harrison from Cedar Rapids. You have to give to get, but if the Twins sign Hughes, Tanaka, and trade for the mlb ready starter, then they will still have a surplus of starters: Meyer, Correia, Diamond, Dean, Albers, Hernandez, DeVries, Vazquez, and even Swarzak. 6. Sign Swarzak and Duensing--keep them around. Veterans. Not too expensive. The Twins could compete with such a team in 2014: C: Mauer (also plays a lot at 1B) C: Pinto Hermann (also plays OF) 1B: Colabello/Parmalee 2B: Dozier 3B: Plouffe SS: Player acquired for Deduno LF: Arcia CF: Pressley RF: Parmalee/Hermann DH: Willingham Utility: Florimon Bench: Beresford or Romero or Escobar SP: Hughes SP: Tanaka SP: Pitcher acquired by trade SP: Correia SP: Swarzak or Diamond RP: Perkins RP: Fein RP: Thielbar RP: Duensing RP: Tonkin RP: Pressly RP: Rule 5 Pick This scenario assumes a lot--I know. It also assumes that the Twins find someone who wants Doumit and that Hicks is at AAA to start the season, that Mastrianni is a AAA or gone, that Thomas is at AAA or gone, that Roenicke is gone, and that the TWins do not resign Pelfrey. Given Deduno's success and the shortage of starting pitching, some team will deal for him. The Twins might also be able to sell high on someone like Thielbar and get a couple of lower-level prospects to add to the riches in the minors since they have been drafting pitchers and not position players. The Twins might also be able to deal Diamond in a similar vein if they sign Hughes (someone like him) and Tanaka and if they also make a trade for an mlb ready starter. Willingham has to come back strong as the DH. A better hitting shortstop would also help the offense, and you would still have Florimon as the utility infielder. Anyway, thanks for indulging in this plan to help redirect the Twins into a winning team in 2014, and then they would be positioned in 2015 to compete for the division title with additions of Sano, Rosario, and Meyer with the prospect depth to make a judicious trade or two.

My top 10 (12) Twins pitching prospects: Stewart Meyers Berrios May Summers Duffy/Baxendale Melotakis Gonsalves/Thorpe Eades Jorge I am not counting Gibson since he is on the 25 man roster. I am also not counting Albers because he might soon be on the 25 man roster. Would Albers fit in the top 15? I'm not sure, but I hope he gets promoted so we can see how he does against mlb hitters. Is this a great list of prospects? No. Is it better than what the Twins have had for the last five years. Yes! If the Twins have, in June 2014, as they have had in the past two Junes, one of the top five draft picks in each round, then I would bet that they will take the best college starter available in round one to deepen the pool of potential #1/#2 starters in the system, and then I suspect that they would take high ceiling high school starters in rounds 2 and 3 to really flesh out their starting pitching depth. That would complement their position player depth. It is nice to see prospect starters at all levels of their minor league system now--Meyer and May, for example, will likely start next season at AAA (although it is also possible that one of them could break camp with the Twins for the 2014 season).

Shane, thanks for raising this topic. My sense of how Ryan works is not to acquire AAA or AA players in return because their value is not going to be that great. Remember when the Twins acquired Pavano for Pino (a AA/AAA) marginal pitching prospect. His numbers looked much better than his actual perfomance, and I am not sure if he ever made it to the major leagues with the Indians. Ryan prefers, rightly, to push for higher ceiling players at the lower minor league levels: A ball and short season leagues. Such an approach increases the odds that the Twins will get a future contributor at the major league level. Teams just are not going to trade away AA/AAA prospect for a partial season of Morneau. With Willingham you get more back because he is under contract for one more year, but his knee injury and less productive season to date again limit what a team is going to send the Twins in terms of AA/AAA players. Plouffe does have more value because he is under contract for more time to the team that might acquire him. Would the Twins trade Walters and/or Deduno if both pitch well in their next 3-4 starts? Pitching almost always gives you a higher return down the stretch, plus these players would be under a team's control and very inexpensive.

I'm excited for the Twins to play the Orioles I guess. So, one more against the Tigers. Gardy's guys need to extend the momentum and win the first series of the season against Leyland's club.

I agree that Correa is the player of the game, but one guy who deserves mention as offensive player of the last couple of innings is Trevor Plouffe who drew two walks--he scored on one and Carroll scored on the other. Also, you got to love being able to pinch hit Wilkin Ramirez. He was a beast in spring training, and he's going to get a lot of pinch hitting opportunities. Now, about Correa. 7 innnings is outstanding, and Burton and Perkins looked awesome. On to face the Orioles now.

Can the Twins still pick up an alternative to Tyler Robertson in the pen. Tyler might be useful later on after some time in Rochester, but he looked horrible tonight, and I don't think his numbers this spring justify his presence as a lefty specialist on the club. Maybe another pitcher option will shake loose from another team this weekend. On the other hand, Bert mentioned tonight that he had a horrible ST with Cleveland and then came out smoking at the start of the season. Still ...

If Benson is upset that Hicks has passed by him, Benson needs to look at the numbers. Benson also needs to be mature enough to realize that so many players make the opening day roster who are not on the active 25 man roster as the season unfolds. If Benson has been mishandled by the medical staff, that is one thing, but he also needs to get to Rochester and play once his hand/wrist is ready. Just play the game, get better, be ready should an opening at Minnesota come his way. Benson may have a world of talent and potential when healthy, but have his minor league numbers when healthy been above average and sustained? I don't think so. He had one really good season, but last year he was awful thanks in large part to the hamate break. It often takes good while before a player gets healthy from that injury and surgery.

I am sure that the Twins will carry 12 pitchers to start the season, so the 13 position players are likely not to include Butera. Here is my position player roster prediction: C: Mauer C: Doumit 1B: Morneau 2B: Dozier 3B: Plouffe SS: Florimon LF: Willingham CF: Hicks RF: Parmalee UI: Carroll UI: Escobar OF: Mastriani OF: Ramirez If you keep Butera, then you have the same bench as last year. Gardy claims to want, rightly so, more power off of the bench. Ramirez provides that; plus, he can fill in as a DH some for Doumit as well as being a pinch-hitter and occasional starter for Parmalee against a tough left-handed starter. If the Twins keep Butera, then they are sacrificing offensive potential for a guy who should be sitting on the bench if Mauer is going to be playing as much as he hopes.

I would have named Hirschfeld the pitcher of the day.

My top 20: Arcia Buxton Sano Berrios Rosario Hendricks Parmalee Hicks Gibson Parmalee Harrison Kepler Vargas Mata Bard Summers Boyd Williams Hermson Benson Romero Thielbar Boer Tomshaw Any list is arbitrary. Any list is fantasy. Lists can be fun. Arcia is putting up the best numbers, so he has to be number one from my perspective.

Don't forget that Deibison Romero at AA used to be on the 40 man roster, and he is hitting .270 with 15 homers. He might finish the season with close to 20. He should certainly be the Twins' AAA 3rd baseman next year, and could be called up to fill in if Plouffe has more hand problems. I'm not sure if he bats right or left. Also, I'm not sure of his defense, but before he was injured about 3 years ago, he was considered a legit prospect, and it looks like he is working his way back to that status. So, I'm not surprised Valencia was traded, because Romero would have pushed him aside for the AAA spot next season. Now, Romero might also be a 6 year free agent after this season--I'm not sure, but I would think the Twins would do everything they could to keep him as insurance next season at 3rd.

Don't forget that Deibison Romero at AA used to be on the 40 man roster, and he is hitting .270 with 15 homers. He might finish the season with close to 20. He should certainly be the Twins' AAA 3rd baseman next year, and could be called up to fill in if Plouffe has more hand problems. I'm not sure if he bats right or left. Also, I'm not sure of his defense, but before he was injured about 3 years ago, he was considered a legit prospect, and it looks like he is working his way back to that status. So, I'm not surprised Valencia was traded, because Romero would have pushed him aside for the AAA spot next season. Now, Romero might also be a 6 year free agent after this season--I'm not sure, but I would think the Twins would do everything they could to keep him as insurance next season at 3rd.

Nishi is hitting better, but also note the good offensive numbers of AA 3B Deibinsin Romero. He used to be on the 40 man roster. He has 15 homers. He may make Valencia expendable as a AAA back up to Plouffe. I'm not sure about his defense, but he is 2nd on the New Britain team in home runs. He has a good rbi total. He would also be cheaper than Valencia. Now, I also like Danny, but he has got to get it going and sustain it to stay on the 40 man roster. He is hitting better since his return, but it is a small sample size.

Just compare the relievers Ventura used in the tight game with Jeff Gray. Terrible decision making by Gardy. Casey Fein has actually been the most of effective of the relievers Gardy had available. I've seen Fein pitch in several games, and he strikes guys out. What does Gray do? Gets ahead 0 and 2 and then gives up a hit to Rios, and then gets ahead 0 and 2 and gives Pierzynski a low slightly inside pitch and Whamo--a two run homer with 2 strikes. What the heck was he doing (catcher also included here)? You don't throw inside to Pierzynski--keep the ball away from him and out of the strike zone with an 0 and 2 count. Gardy is so stubborn and predictable in his "maneuvers" with relievers. I suspect more than a couple of people said to themselves "this ain't good" when they saw Gardy bring Gray into the contest.

I like the trade. The Twins got two young players: a lefty starter who has good numbers in the minors; and, a fast young middle infielder, giving the Twins more depth there when they will likely part ways with Casilla and, perhaps, Floriman, and Nishioka might never return to the Twins roster. Liriano's numbers were abysmal this season. He did have a couple of good starts of late, but he was terrible in his last start. He will be a free agent, and the White Sox cannot get any draft pick compensation if he leaves via free agency. Hernandez might be part of a deeper rotation at AAA next season, or he might be part of the Twins opening rotation. Hermson figures to be at AAA next season. Maybe Bromberg will be a starter there. Both Manship and Hendricks have good AAA starting numbers, so if one or both can transfer that success to the majors (as Diamond has done), then that should also be a boost for the Twins. The Twins were not going to get a number one starter in return for Liriana (a rental)--that Ryan got a starter with such a good minor league track record and a slick fielding middle infielder is much more than I imagined he could get for Liriano. So, to repeat: the trade does not look bad to me.

How about this pun which could have been used in an earlier popular post today started by USAFChief about the Twins' need to weed out the managerial staff: they need to hire a new gardener to really blossom in 2013.

I also think the reporting on this story was very good. I have one quibble--if that is even the right word. I would have had co-pitchers of the day: Hauser but also Wheeler (he won his 12th game--tops in the organization, right?). Also, it seems to me that Danny Rams is starting to inch his batting average up. When I checked in on the game last night, he was up to .232--not a great average but much, much better than it had been not that long ago. It would be great if he could finish the season above .250 and start next season at AA because the fellow does have power potential.