arby58
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Everything posted by arby58
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Are you his uncle? Even in a good year (2024), he struggled with control - 40 walks in 79 IP, leading to a WHIP of 1.316, and that was his good year. Last year was dreadful, with 68 walks in 73 IP and an 'other world' WHIP of 2.068 - not surprisingly, his ERA was north of 7. I don't see how the Twins could have possibly protected a 25 year old pitcher after a year like that. Where would be the accountability?
- 48 replies
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- cj culpepper
- kyler fedko
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Rocco Baldelli Heads West to Join Dodgers Front Office
arby58 replied to Cody Christie's topic in Minnesota Twins Talk
I'm also happy for him, and agree the end result was not nearly primarily his fault. That said, where do the players 'fault' lie in lack of performance? I'd say the general decline in performance in 2025 was as much due to the players as anything, and they should be held accountable. Maybe 10% Baldelli, 45% front office (including ownership) and 45% players. -
SWR is 25 years old - there most certainly is room for improvement. I 'get' that Lawler has only had 97 ABs, but after that amount of ABs, Luke Keaschall was earning playing time and, in about twice Lawler's ABs was ending the season with 128 OPS+, .827 OPS and 2.0 WAR. Lawler's 97 ABs don't exactly inspire confidence - .165 BA, .478 OPS, 33 OPS+ and -0.5 WAR. Nor does his injury history (from Google AI): Arizona Diamondbacks prospect Jordan Lawlar has had a significant injury history early in his pro career, starting with a 2021 shoulder labrum tear requiring surgery, followed by a 2022 scapula fracture (from a HBP) and notable 2024 issues including thumb ligament surgery (UCL) and recurrent hamstring strains, limiting his playing time despite high potential, making health a major concern.
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- pablo lopez
- joe ryan
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Brooks Lee was #31 in 2023, and Taj Bradley was #20. Meanwhile, all SWR has done is be a solid starting pitcher the last two years in MLB, not AAA.
- 50 replies
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- pablo lopez
- joe ryan
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Clemens had his moments last year, but his numbers aren't 'ok to pretty good returns' for 1B. O'Hern's 125 OPS+, .803 OPS and 2.4 WAR are head and shoulders above Clemens' 94, .715, and 1.0. We can convert some starters to relief pitchers (it's how Duran, Jax, and Varland got good, not to mention Nathan, Aguilera, and their current bullpen coach). We've got plenty of utility options, but we don't have a 'thumper' at 1B, and the Twins lineup needs one.
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I will grant you that Lawler has strong stats at AAA over two years - that still doesn't strike me as sufficient for SWR, who has decent stats in MLB over the last two years and is still only 25. Maybe Ober, definitely one of hte others.
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- pablo lopez
- joe ryan
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Maybe they could/should/would trade from surplus starting pitching, but the four players suggested have 'yuck' all over them. Casas last year was -0.9 WAR, .580 OPS and OPS+ of 62. He makes Clemens look like a superstar. Lawler was even worse, with a 51 OPS+ and .545 OPS. He is negative WAR both for last year and his career. Vientos was closer, with 'only' a -0.2 WAR, 97 OPS+ and .702 OPS. Acuna was 63 OPS+ AND .567 OPS. Is this really the best you could get for Ober (1.1 WAR) or SWR (2.2 WAR)? I sure hope not.
- 50 replies
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- pablo lopez
- joe ryan
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The odds are not in the Twins favor. It's nice to dream, though.
- 15 replies
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- walker jenkins
- eduardo tait
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I assume this was at least partly in jest - Trout played 40 games for the Angels at age 19 - most of the guys I went to college with were shaving at that age.
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- walker jenkins
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5 Best Suitors in Byron Buxton Trade Rumors
arby58 replied to Eric Blonigen's topic in Twins Daily Front Page News
I wouldn't view that trade as 'upper hand' for the Dodgers. Stewart is perpetully injured (including after four games last season for the Dodgers). -
5 Best Suitors in Byron Buxton Trade Rumors
arby58 replied to Eric Blonigen's topic in Twins Daily Front Page News
IF Buxton agrees to a trade, it's primarily because he wants to contend/win a World Series. I'd eliminate the Reds on that alone. The Dodgers are the 'sure bet' and the Phillies next if that is the primary reason to leave. I 'get' that he's from Georgia, but are the Braves really contenders in the next couple of years? -
The 'it won't take that long to be stretched out' flies in the face of actual practice. Any examples you can cite that 'it won't take that long?' Piggybacks are also hard on a bullpen. There is a reason teams don't often adopt this 'strategy' when constructing a bullpen or a way to deal with a starting pitcher going down.
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- ryan jeffers
- kody clemens
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I know SWR isn't as flashy and doesn;t throw as hard as Zebby - all he does is put up solid numbers. Last year, SWR was 7-4, 4.04 ERA, 107 Ks in 111.1 innings, a WHIP of 1.275 and WAR of 2.0. Last year, Zebby was 5-6, 5.56 ERA, 88 Ks in 79.1 innings, a WHIP of 1.487 and WAR of 0.2. For his career in those 254.2 innings, SWR is 12-10, 4.21 ERA and a WAR of 4.0. In the aggregate, that doesn't look too bad to me.
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- ryan jeffers
- kody clemens
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While I get your point, if the last two years have proven anything, it is that you need starting pitching depth at AAA. Given Festa's health issues, he might be the one I agree with you about moving to the bullpen, but having stretched out Matthews and Abel in St. Paul is at last some insurance when the inevitable starting pitching injuries manifest themselves.
- 77 replies
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- ryan jeffers
- kody clemens
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Left Field Could Surprise Next Season
arby58 replied to Cody Schoenmann's topic in Twins Daily Front Page News
It was 181 plate appearances, which is basically 1/3 of a season. Hard to annoint him based on that, given that over his MLB career 438 plate appearances, he is -0.3 WAR. I'm happy with last year and agree he made great strides defensively in LF and is a decent baserunner. Handing him the starting LF spot based on that seems a bit premature. -
Left Field Could Surprise Next Season
arby58 replied to Cody Schoenmann's topic in Twins Daily Front Page News
I think you spelled reprise wrong. -
The league average OPS in the AAA International League in 2025 was approximately .750 - how is a player with an OPS of .853 'just average in AAA?' He's on basically evey list of the top 100 prospects in baseball - again, that doesn't scream 'just average in AAA.'
- 85 replies
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- joe ryan
- pablo lopez
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You overlook the fact that makes it an apt comparison - he was out a full year after Tommy John surgery and was age 25 when they stuck him in the bullpen in 2023. Prielipp's delay in getting to the majors was not related to his lack of talent, it was related to injuries. Besides, I gave you almost a perfect comparison example in Soriano, and your response was basically 'give me more.' OK, how about Michael King? Pitched in 1 game at age 24, then was mostly a relief pitcher the next four years (114 games, 19 starts). Then, the last two years entirely a starting pitcher (and a good one).
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- connor prielipp
- andrew morris
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