Riverbrian

Correa, Buxton, Kepler, Santana and Castro are going to play close enough to every day. Our season will depend primarily on those 5 players or whoever replaces them with every day roles during times of injury due to roster size limitations. 13 positions players - 2 are a catcher rotation - 6 players are part of rigid platoon combos. That leaves 5 players who play nearly every day. Rocco was rigid with his execution last year and he has started 2024 with the same rigid sensibilities. Julien, Wallner and Kirilloff not only won't start against left handers but they will be yanked mid game when left handers like Milner hit the stage. Julien, Wallner and Kirilloff won't be around in the ninth to get a needed clutch hit against a right handed closer because they were lifted early. When the ninth comes it will be Margot in the box instead of Wallner to face Abner.

Royce Lewis is out for two months after two AB's and you still want to make this same point? Like Chief pointed out... Manuel Margot was our opening day DH and you still want to make this same point? Alex Kirilloff was in LF by game two and you still want to make this point? Julien still isn't in the lineup against left handers. Santana leads the team in plate appearances. Willie Castro is our everyday 3B and you still want to make this point? It's just game three. Your paper lineup doesn't have any staying power. You are standing in the middle of a lineup already in flux around you. But... Nevermind all of that. Polanco would not be a bench player.

Polanco would not have been a bench player!!! Polonco hit 2nd in the order for us during the playoffs last year. He is hitting third in the lineup for the Mariners thus far this year.

Castro and Farmer over Polanco? That is the exact opposite of what the Twins did in the playoffs.

In my opinion. The loss of DeSclafini doesn't matter. However... It took one day to demonstrate that the loss of Jorge Polanco does matter.

It is vital that the Twins develop pitching and keep developing it. The depth that this article refers to is always going to come from the farm and players with options. It should never come from players like DeSclafini or Bundy or Archer. At some point the depth players listed in this article are going into the rotation. It is up to the Twins to have them ready for the opportunity that is coming soon. It is critical. We all know that the Twins are not going to sign the big name free agent pitcher and if they are not going to sign the big name free agent pitcher. They must DEVELOP their own pitching. The loss of Desclafini is quite possibly helpful. It's up to the Twins pitching pipeline development. BTW... Another consideration in case creativity is needed. Bullpen games every 5th day are not out of the question.

Probably lost an hour there and a half hour back. The way there was painful. I figured out what the problem was. Left turns. Any car taking a left has to stop and wait and therefore everybody else has to wait and bottleneck. Single road 15 MPH. Left at 7AM got some breakfast arrived in Key West around 12:30. Walked Duval Street from South to North and back. Got back to my hotel around 8:30p

I heard him tell the guy to crank it to 95

Saw those… I think they are merely art.

BTW... I'm currently in Miami Beach. I'll be at the Marlins Home Opener this afternoon. I'm heading to the beach this morning for the sunrise and some time in the ocean after that Little Havana. Tuesday night I walked around south beach had Ceviche and a 30 buck Mojito. I didn't know it was 30 bucks when I ordered it. Yesterday, I spent in Key West. The traffic was slow all the way there and back. You don't have to worry about speeding to get there... it's pretty much impossible at 15 MPH in 45 and 55 mph zones. Tomorrow I'm off to Tampa.

I don't think you have to confuse yourself. I was talking with the staff members in the blue shirts who handle security, stadium usher combo roles. I'd say "Hey what's back there" and they would reply "wanna go check it out". I just had to walk through a scanner and I checked it out. The Twins actually import the blue shirt staff from Minnesota and they bring the Minnesota nice with them. The blue shirt staff are part of the positive experience. I talked with a guy who comes down every spring training just to do this job and then goes back when it's done. If you have questions, they have answers. LIke you said... the key is away game days, Don't stay in the hotel on away games. Not every player travels to Bradenton or wherever for the game. Those that stay behind are working out right in front of you. On home game days... things are a little tighter but the access is still wonderful. Personal observance from my couple of days. Matt Wallner spends a lot of time in the cage. I saw quite a few players hit in the cage. Matt Wallner was in the cage 3 times as much as anybody else. And more personal note. On Tuesday I had seats behind the plate for the game. Matt Wallner cleared the batters eye in CF against AJ Minter who is a top shelf LEFT HANDED relief pitcher. The scoreboard said 451 feet. No way... it cleared the batters eye. 480 feet at least against a left hander. Yeah I know... small sample size.

It was certainly Wanderful. I went to Jetblue for the game on Saturday night. Didn't try to attend practices. I just can't imagine teams granting that kind of access so those snobby Red Sox don't surprise me. You are right... The games didn't mean much at all. It was the hanging around that makes it worthwhile. Wanderful... just wanderful.

I can only speak for the tail end. The Major and Minors seem to be pretty separated at this point. You have access to both but go hang by the stadium and Rick Stelmaszek Field for the major leaguers. Go deeper into the complex away from the stadium for access to the minor league players. Do both is my recommendation. By the way behind the academy on Bill Smith field. They have a pond with Gators in it. So keep your eye on the practice and the gators at the same time. I never have to do that in North Dakota.

Today is my last day in Fort Myers. After the game today, I'm off for Miami and Tampa before heading back home Easter morning. Attending spring training was something I've always wanted to do for decades. I had always heard that you could attend spring training and wonder around, however I had no idea what that meant. The access to the players and facilities granted to a fan who flew from North Dakota was beyond the expectation of someone that had no idea what to expect. The entire complex was there for me to observe. How close you get to the players is more than I could imagine, getting the chance to speak with the players was something I did not expect. Watching minor league arms throw bullpens up close was wonderful. Up close you see the movement on some impressive two-seamers and sliders. I spent some time talking with a young catcher out of California. Dillon Tatum was his name and I will be following him from here on out because he was such a nice guy and he is chasing a dream and I will be pulling for him to realize it. Watching Wallner and Lewis hit in the batting cage from maybe 10 yards away. Watching Jay Jackson throw to Ryan Jeffers in the pen was a treat. Meeting Johan Santana, my favorite Twins pitcher ever wasn't expected when I got on that plane but it is something that I will take back with me. Latroy Hawkins, Royce Lewis, Eduardo Julien, Matt Wallner, Pablo Lopez could not have been nicer. I have no idea how many teams grant this type of access. I can't imagine that many teams do. I imagine that it takes a little tolerance from some of the players. Some may like it, some may not but... I hope that the Twins never change because what the Twins organization allowed this fan to do was... special and in reality... special just isn't a strong enough word. To the fans... Don't ruin it. Don't be the reason they have to change. Maintain your respect for the players and the facilities... don't take for granted how incredible this is. To the players... Thank You! We were all geeky and clumsy interactions but each interaction is a big deal to the person you are interacting with. That's why they flew to Florida when they could be enjoying winter in Minnesota. To the Twins organization. Thank You! Decision makers come and go and someone may show up to a meeting one day with the idea to restrict access. When that day comes, I hope there are enough people in the room who understand how incredible it is for the average Joe.

This is an overlook

Bench Drained early. Vazquez plays 2B in the 9th.

I know Logan Vandiver. His wife says that he doesn't notice things. Logan once pulled up to a self serve fuel pump and waited 8 hours for someone to come out and pump his gas. Despite a self serve sign and despite dozens of drivers pulling up to the pumps, getting out and self serving around him, he didn't notice and continued to wait. Not noticing things and patience can pay off eventually. A cashier from inside finally said enough is enough and went out and pumped his gas just to clear the fuel aisle. This cashier continues to do this whenever Logan pulls up in his Ford Edge with two low tires that Logan also doesn't notice. Logan is a frequent poster on Twinsdaily. His identity will be kept a secret, others will have to guess.

I don't have a number. It would be ridiculous for me to quote a number. It's about what they are now doesn't have to be what they are going to be in the future unless you place them in cement shoes. I have a real problem with taking a young player and strip mining them for parts. Jeffers had a .540 OPS against Right Handers... 150 AB's in 2022. If you are going to use Wallner's small sample against him... it's only fair to use Jeffer's 2022 against him. He had an OPS of .828 OPS against righties...218 AB in 2023. Jeffers was allowed to show what he could do. Jeffers wasn't typecast. I am absolutely fine with them being pinch hit for in the 8th or 9th with the game on the line. That makes sense... I am absolutely not fine with them being yanked in the 2nd inning when a left hander enters the game with plenty of game to go. I'm Ok with a platoon... but, the occasional start against a left hander isn't too much to ask so they can group some AB's against them and develop. Can we use the early part of the season to determine what players can actually do and then answer what do we actually need at the trade deadline with actionable intel and determine what do we have to actually work with come playoff time. Wallner had real good numbers being shielded against lefties. It's hard to argue against it. But... what Wallner, Julien and Kirilloff are going to be is being pre-determined by their supervisors.

I wasn't going to point out injury vs. talent. I think the point that Mike was making was that his numbers in a small sample size equated to 2nd best LF in baseball. I don't think Mike believes that he is the 2nd best LF in baseball. I think Mike was making a statement that his numbers were good in him limited opportunity. I've read enough of Mike's post to believe that he understands sample size. That's what I think Mike was thinking... Mike is capable of explaining his intent better than I though. Myself personally. He earned a roster spot this year and there are players behind him that want his job. If he stumbles... Larnach, Miranda, Lee and others are waiting for the call. As long as he as options that can be exercised his presence in the big leagues will depend on him continuing to earn his job... so I think we agree there. However... as far his ability against left handed pitching... which is what I quoted. That's a sore spot with me. It's a self fulfilling prophecy for the Twins organization. Taking young developing players like Wallner, Julien and Kirilloff and hiding them from lefties will typecast them for their future. Gilligan was turned down for roles like the Sundance Kid and Vito Corleone because the producers and fan base could only see him as little buddy.

Can't prove it unless he is allowed to. Get the branding iron out after 42 scattered AB's. Apply that thing to his career. The end result... Sharp pain on the backside of his career. Ouch!!!

Definitely not exempt.. no question about it... He has two options remaining. If Wallner has a down year... for example... let's say that he performs at the plate like Carlos Correa did last year. He would go down for that type of performance. While Correa, Buxton, Kepler, Gallo were taking us out of playoff contention without threat of AAA. Wallner, Lewis, Julien saved our season last year... the young position players prevented us from wasting one of our best team pitching performances in decades. Credit where credit is due.

I can only answer that question in a very broad sense. I read scouting reports and articles but I don't rely upon them because those things are based upon the past. This question has everything to do with development and the result of development isn't about the past... it's about who's ready now and who's ready in the future near and far. All I can do is express my faith in the pitching pipeline spitting out major league capable pitchers and keep spitting them out. Ultimately what I will judge the front office on is development when it is all said and done. The Twins need to be like Cleveland in regards to pitching. They need to be not reliant upon the signing of a Blake Snell because they produce Blake Snell. Cleveland keeps a pretty nice pitching staff year after year and they don't sign Blake Snell and they typically don't sign Dylan Bundy either. Dylan Bundy types just plugs that pipeline, while costing money while producing below average results. So to answer the question, I don't know if Festa, SWR or Canterino will rise up and show themselves like Bailey Ober did. I don't know which one specifically all or none but out of the possible names... someone better rise up and show themselves because farm production is the only way this franchise can compete year after year. I have faith that someone or someones will rise up because I think the pipeline is starting to bare fruit. If no one rises up this year... it will force us into the bargain basement bin to fill out the rotation next year. The farm is the key to our happiness.

I know what you mean by "back of the rotation". However... I want to stress that a rotation is a rotation. If the chosen 5 remains healthy (they won't)... that will be an equal 32 starts for all of them... each start is going to be important to compete and allow your offense and defense and bullpen to win a game for you and the workload is shared. You can label Lopez as front end of the rotation but he isn't just going to matchup against Corbin Burnes types every time he starts. You can label Paddack as back end of the rotation but he isn't going to matchup against Cole Irvin types every time he starts. Lopez will face off against Burnes and Irvin types and the same goes for Paddack. Healthy starters are going to pitch the majority of innings available during the course of a 162 game season. All 5 slots in the rotation are equally important. In regards to that... the biggest question facing our rotation will be the replacements coming up from the minors. Can we get a surprise boost from the young arms in the system much like we got from the offense last year. Julien and Wallner saved our season last year when Correa and Buxton took a nose dive. Can our young starters do that when called upon. I know what you mean by "back of the rotation". I won't label them as such. And I'll let others label our starters with a one and a two or a three.

I felt we needed to add a hitter not subtract one. Don't get me wrong... I would have liked a starter but would have chosen a hitter over a starter if forced to add just one in the off-season. I felt that our pitching wasn't going to stay as healthy as it was last season and therefore will not be as good as last season NO MATTER who is added to the starting pitching staff. Adding an innings eater instead of decent starter was the very last thing that I would have wished for. I felt that OFFENSE could make up for the step back that we are going to take on the mound. Offense was where we could improve over last season. Offense was where we accumulated the necessary depth to remain offensively talented throughout the season. Adding a talented bat to Royce Lewis along with a return to form from Correa and Buxton plus POLANCO who has been one of our most consistently good hitters and we have a real good 5 instead of a good 3. Add to that the potential of Jeffers, Kirilloff, Julien, Wallner and whatever Kepler will show up and you had a chance to put together an offense that performs like the Rangers performed last year. The Rangers won a world series last year with a very very very talented offense that overcame below average pitching that was decimated by injury. If anybody still believes that we had to move Polanco because Julien is on the roster. I'll remind them to look at the title of this discussion, look at the calendar and then consider that Polanco was replaced in the roster by Carlos Santana. If there is room for Santana... there was room for Polanco. I believe the Twins won the trade when you look at the value between the clubs because of Gonzalez alone. However... I believe we lost the trade for 2024 because we didn't add a hitter we subtracted one. I believe that I follow the Twins. I'm serious about it. Others may feel differently.

I'm beginning to think that the Twins will go with Vazquez at C and Jeffers at DH vs left handed starters. We still need a right handed handcuff for Kirilloff. If they use Santana for that role. If will force Castro into an every day starter position and I don't think they will do that because Castro is going to be that plug and play move around guy. Castro is stronger against right handers so he doesn't make sense for the short side platoon. Therefore I don't believe that Santana will play the short side role with us and that leaves you with Jeffers for the role. vs R/vs L DH - Kirilloff/Jeffers C- Jeffers and Vazquez split/Vazquez 1B- Santana 2B- Julien/Farmer 3B - Lewis SS - Correa LF - Wallner/Margot CF - Buxton RF - Kepler Castro - Plug and Play everywhere That's a role for all 13 players Just guessing of course but it makes the most sense to me. However... even if I'm right... it's only temporary... injuries are going to blow it all up anyway.