miracleb

If Gray has 88 pitches going into the 8th inning with a 5-1 lead......he will keep pitching.....just like he did last year.  If he is sitting on 94 pitches after 5 innings, the leash will be much shorter.  If he is sitting at 65 pitches with one out in the 5th with guys on 2nd and 3rd with a 4-4 tie....then he will get yanked.  Every major league manager would agree with the above information. None of this has really changed....in the last 20 years!  Archer was certainly fine with only going 4 innings....he was just happy to have a contract.  Archer knew his ERA would suffer even more if he started facing the same hitter for the 3rd time.  History says they ALL suffer once they start facing the same hitter for the 3rd time......

If Gray has 88 pitches going into the 8th inning with a 5-1 lead......he will keep pitching.....just like he did last year.  If he is sitting on 94 pitches after 5 innings, the leash will be much shorter.  If he is sitting at 65 pitches with one out in the 5th with guys on 2nd and 3rd with a 4-4 tie....then he will get yanked.  Every major league manager would agree with the above information. None of this has really changed....in the last 20 years!  Archer was certainly fine with only going 4 innings....he was just happy to have a contract.  Archer knew his ERA would suffer even more if he started facing the same hitter for the 3rd time.  History says they ALL suffer once they start facing the same hitter for the 3rd time......

If Gray has 88 pitches going into the 8th inning with a 5-1 lead......he will keep pitching.....just like he did last year.  If he is sitting on 94 pitches after 5 innings, the leash will be much shorter.  If he is sitting at 65 pitches with one out in the 5th with guys on 2nd and 3rd with a 4-4 tie....then he will get yanked.  Every major league manager would agree with the above information. None of this has really changed....in the last 20 years!  Archer was certainly fine with only going 4 innings....he was just happy to have a contract.  Archer knew his ERA would suffer even more if he started facing the same hitter for the 3rd time.  History says they ALL suffer once they start facing the same hitter for the 3rd time......

If Gray has 88 pitches going into the 8th inning with a 5-1 lead......he will keep pitching.....just like he did last year.  If he is sitting on 94 pitches after 5 innings, the leash will be much shorter.  If he is sitting at 65 pitches with one out in the 5th with guys on 2nd and 3rd with a 4-4 tie....then he will get yanked.  Every major league manager would agree with the above information. None of this has really changed....in the last 20 years!  Archer was certainly fine with only going 4 innings....he was just happy to have a contract.  Archer knew his ERA would suffer even more if he started facing the same hitter for the 3rd time.  History says they ALL suffer once they start facing the same hitter for the 3rd time......

If Gray has 88 pitches going into the 8th inning with a 5-1 lead......he will keep pitching.....just like he did last year.  If he is sitting on 94 pitches after 5 innings, the leash will be much shorter.  If he is sitting at 65 pitches with one out in the 5th with guys on 2nd and 3rd with a 4-4 tie....then he will get yanked.  Every major league manager would agree with the above information. None of this has really changed....in the last 20 years!  Archer was certainly fine with only going 4 innings....he was just happy to have a contract.  Archer knew his ERA would suffer even more if he started facing the same hitter for the 3rd time.  History says they ALL suffer once they start facing the same hitter for the 3rd time......

This has become the favorite red herring of Twins fans.  There was a perfect storm of activity last year that led to short starters not just in MN but across the league.  Initially, the short spring training after the lockout led to “extended spring training” of a sort to start the season for everyone.  The major issue for the Twins as the season went on was that they didn’t have very good starting pitchers and that they would tend to implode after twice through the lineup or would be inefficient enough that the pitch count would escalate through five innings.  
I don’t think that we are likely to ever go back to a bunch of complete games and/or games where we see starter and then closer.  However, I think this year’s group has a good shot to at least start that third time through the lineup.  Lopez proved he could do that last season, as did Mahle (although injury is a concern, if we ever figure out what the problem really was/is).  Joe Ryan should be another year older and another year wiser.  Sonny Gray has an expressed frustration with the early hook.  That leaves post-Tommy John Kenta Maeda as the only one of the rotation likely to get the early hook.  Another poster somewhere pointed out that having the starters go one more inning is indeed a lot, and a lot more than it seems like, as that leads to 162 inning less in bullpen workload.  Let’s hope for an out or two extra from everyone and a successful season for the Twins.
 

My picks:
Offensive MVP: Jose Miranda
Pitching MVP: Tyler Mahle
Julien would only be a sleeper in terms of fantasy, but yeah, I'm contemplating adding him now. I'm worried that he might be down awhile though if they won't even give him a job over Willie Castro.
My Super Sleeper is really, really sleeping though. I'm going with Anthony Prato. If/When the team finally decides they want a righthanded outfielder that can hit, other than Buxton, he should be the guy over Garlick. He's really good at getting on base, he steals bases and last year showed giant increases in his previously low XBH categories. 

That's fair to a degree...if he struggled this spring, I'd be less inclined to list him. But I think the new shift rules are the key here. And because Kepler is basically an afterthought in drafts right now, even modest production would be welcome. He's a guy who could see his ownership climb if he gets off to a good start with a few dingers mixed in.

I think your Kepler "Sleeper" is based on 30-40 spring training at bats ....and not his MLB history.  I am guessing if he hit .200 in those 40 at bats....he wouldn't be listed here.

I do too. There was a reason they made the Santana move to open a 40 man spot.

I think Jeff Hoffman will make the cut.
Post Ejection Edit:  Or maybe not.

With Varland and Megill optioned, the Twins have 14 healthy pitchers on the 40-man roster in camp. That would include six starters (including Ober) and eight relievers (not counting Henriquez and Winder), Cole Sands hasn't been that impressive and Hoffman threw two scoreless innings today. 

I think it's time to boot up the annual roster moves and transactions thread with the regular season so close. I'll post some moves from yesterday:
Feel free to post updates here.
(For minor league transactions see the equivalent thread in the Minor League forum.)

I'd rank all three impressive performances (1) Larnach (2) Miranda and (3) Ober. 
1. Larnach plays "bat first" positions and is 26 years old. I think this year is perhaps his last chance to establish himself as a regular. I believe he can be a very good all-around corner outfielder, but the clock is ticking. 
2. Miranda, similar to Larnach, needs to hit well above average playing at bat-first positions (first and third) and not being a particularly adept defender. For most of last season and this spring he has looked the part of a middle-of-the-order masher. 
3. Ober has stepped up his velocity which moves his ceiling up, almost commensurate with his height. It is important for him to remain healthy and provide the Twins with innings when he is called on. His performance this year will play a big part in his role with the Twins in 2024 and beyond. 

Does that mean that the FO will trade them all for prospects at the trade deadline?
This should be interesting. A lot of hitters that have a lot to prove. A lot of pitchers with a lot to prove. Big question marks all around, and we haven't really seen much of several of them all ST. And the month of April may be the toughest on the schedule. I hope these guys can prove it.
I was reading somewhere that Gallo will be leading off against righties.... which is more than half the time. A strikeout king hitting well below the Mendoza Line (2022) leading off. Baseball sure has changed. (Castro leading ST with Ks, with less at bats than Gallo! Yikes!)
 

That's what I would have done (Coulombe for Pagan). I only hope it isn't purely a money thing. The FO and Rocco seemed determined to have a guy who can go multiple innings, so it was a competition based only on that ability. Add in that Coulombe would have to be added at the expense of a DFA (or 60-day IL assignment for someone) and that he couldn't be optioned and the Twins chose the "more flexibility" route. 
One thought that occurred to me is that maybe this indicates that either or both of Winder and Henriquez is closer to being ready to perform than I've thought. First of all, neither was placed on the 60-day IL, secondly one of those two will be a candidate to switch places with Sands if the 40-man roster remains full.

The front office has hitched it's wagon to Pagan. If he fail's this year it's time to replace the front office.   As horrendous as the Pagan trade turned out , this doubles down the buffoonery in trusting Pagan........their jobs had BETTER be on the line now with this dumb decision.

I think the bigger hurdle with Coulombe making it over Sands opening day is there wasn't a 40-man spot for him. They'd have to DFA someone (assuming Castro is taking the 1 open spot already) to get Coulombe on the roster. Which is why I think the Coulombe over Pagan argument is better. Take Pagan off the 40-man and put Coulombe on.

Sometimes you just scratch your head.
Orioles Win and Twins Lose on this one. Yet Pagan stays.
Go Twins!
Twins Geezer.....out!

Sands has really done nothing yet to show he belongs in the majors.  Coulombe has.....with the TWINS!

Sands has really done nothing yet to show he belongs in the majors.  Coulombe has.....with the TWINS!

Jorge Lopez?? Compared to Danny Coulombe?

Unforced error 

I think this was an unfortunate loss. I’d rather have Coloumbe over Pagan and Sands, but wish him well