Riverbrian

I'm just going to post the stuff I'm going to track this season. I usually do this type of stuff for my benefit. This year... I might as well share it. Some won't be interested.... everybody should be... but I know some won't. Regardless. I'll update the LH/RH starting pitcher tracker every day and if there are a couple of you folks that would be interested in such stuff... it'll be worth it to share. For what it's worth. This first post will just be a start of the season marker of how many players under three years experience that made the 26 man rosters of all 30 teams. This can always be referenced when looking at what teams are having good years or not having good years. Under three years experience is a quick way to count players making the minimum. The more players making the minimum... the less spots remaining to fill and more money to spend on those less spots. All teams have a budget... this is an important head count. Disclaimer: Players with under three years experience who were offered multi-year contracts buying out some years... are not making the minimum and are still counted as players with less than 3 years experience. Nats: 20 - Payroll 97 Cards: 19 - Payroll 99 White Sox: 18 - Payroll 87 Marlins: 18 - Payroll 73 Guardians: 18 - Payroll 84 Rockies: 16 - Payroll 122 A's: 16 - Payroll 95 Giants: 15 - Payroll 204 Twins: 14 - Payroll 107 Brewers: 14 - Payroll 129 Rays: 14 - Payroll 88 Pirates: 14 - Payroll 105 Astros: 12 - Payroll 237 Dodgers: 12 - Payroll 397 Red Sox: 12 - Payroll 196 Orioles: 11 - Payroll 166 Jays: 11 - Payroll 289 Mariners: 11 - Payroll 162 Reds: 11 - Payroll 126 Padres: 10 - Payroll 208 Angels: 10 - Payroll 183 Tigers: 9 - Payroll 217 Cubs: 9 - Payroll 233 Royals: 8 - Payroll 149 Mets: 8 - Payroll 366 Rangers: 8 - Payroll 186 Yankees: 8 - Payroll 319 D-Backs: 6 - Payroll 196 Phillies: 6 - Payroll 285 Braves; 5 - Payroll 250

I love the start of baseball season. Been waiting for it. Every year... the first couple of weeks of the season is like the springtime return of an old friend. At the same time... I hate the start of the baseball season. All of these day games... you want to be watching the game the usual way on my 140 inch television at home... Instead... I'm watching at work while trying to get some work done on a 2 inch screen on my phone. I may be off on both of those measurements. From what I could see on that tiny screen with my need a bigger screen old person eyes. TAJ BRADLEY looked great again... The guy has stuff!!! As Joe Shoes Jackson once said back in 1979. Cause if my eyes don't deceive me... Something is going right around here.

Quite Possible Yet here he is on the payroll. It makes him a bad employee

I used to work in an industry with an active chat that would discuss my co-workers and myself. Most of the comments were negative tone because that seems to be human nature. All of us being discussed knew about the website and like putting your tongue on a canker sore read each and every comment. Some of us would talk about the comments and some of us would pretend that we didn't... but we all did. I'd be willing to bet a large amount of money that the majority of Twins players and staff just have to type TW into the address bar and it autofills "Twinsdaily.com" because of frequent visits.

I'll be attending a few games this year as usual. I'll probably try some of these new offerings. Not a fan of Elote... I'll eat it if someone places it in front of me but not something I would select of my own freewill. I do fully admit that when I make do my journey's to Target Field. There are so many restaurants to try that can't be found in North Dakota that I like to allocate my daily meals to one of the seemingly endless new culinary experiences. I do love Italian Beef WET... REALLY REALLY WET. So I struggle driving past Maple Grove and Portillo's. It's an easy exit off the interstate to Arbor Lakes. Disclaimer: I was not asked nor will I receive any compensation for my Portillo's endorsement.

Many don't agree with my philosophy. And you'll probably never agree with my philosophy if you have already predetermined who will be successful and who will fail. I'm not for anyone getting inconsistent playing time. If we call up Roden... I'd expect him to compete with Larnach and Wallner and Martin. I've done the math.. you can feed 11 players over 8 positions without anyone getting splinters. I'm insistent that every day playing time only goes to players who deserve every day playing time and they earn everyday playing time through actual performance. You only expose your disadvantage treating Larnach like he is Juan Soto with the same every day playing time. You only expose your disadvantage giving every day playing time to Josh Bell as if he is hitting the ball like Freddie Freeman. Buxton and Keaschall are currently the only two that I put in the deserving every day playing time at this moment. That is based on performance. I'm hopeful that others rise up to join them. If we happen to find 7, 8 or 9 guys that deserve everyday playing time. Then go ahead and roster your specialists. Give Tyler Tolbert a roster spot to pinch run in the 9th. Give Keirsay a roster spot to replace your 40 Home Run defensively challenged guy in the 9th. Until we find those 7 8 or 9 guys... Let's open things up to speed the process along.

I do agree with you on Gray in regard to the odds that he amounts to anything. However, I still feel it is important to point out that Gray while 30 years old has been granted a total of 128 AB's since 2023. 5 AB's in 2023 with Tampa, 28 AB's with Oakland and Miami in 2024, 78 AB's in 2025 with Tampa. HIs 78 AB's with Tampa last year produced a .693 OPS. Last year where the bulk of his major league experience occurred. He produced a .565 OPS over his first 31 AB's and finished with a .776 OPS over his last 47 AB's. Small Sample to the negative and small sample to the positive but with a consistent major league job it could also look like small sample improvement. I'm not trying to sell anyone on Tristan. Again... I am agreeing with you about his odds. However... with scattered small sample MLB employment I am not willing to declare Tristan Gray anything because it wouldn't be fair to him. Overall... In a nutshell... I just disagree with you on the grounds of my personal philosophy of not wasting 26 man roster space. This team shouldn't be trying to math anything together. It doesn't need pinch runners or short side specialists. We don't need Keirsay type late in the game defensive dudes. We need talent (Not just potential superstars... finding average MLB talent is also OK and useful ) and we need to find it now and going forward. This team needs to locate talent as quickly as possible and the way to do that as fast as possible is to utilize the full 26 man roster. If the club is going to place someone on the 26 man roster. He better be able to compete and show what he is or isn't so we can say we might have found someone or let's get the next guy up here to compete. If the club doesn't believe in him or feels that his presence in the lineup card handicaps the team... he is a waste of valuable roster space needed. I believe Brooks should also get opportunity to compete but all eggs should not be in the the Brooks Lee basket. If Gray needs to be hidden... just get him off the 26 man now. I see Gray is in the lineup today against a left hander so it does appear that he is going to get some opportunity going forward. And Yes... I will say the same thing about Outman. If he's on the roster... if you believe in him enough to trade Brock Stewart for him knowing he is out of options. If he is occupying 26 man space. We don't need specialists... we need talent... so if you believe in him. Let him compete with Larnach... Let him compete with Wallner. Let him compete with Martin. If he's just going to be specialist waiting for an OF to get hurt. Just cut him and call up Rodan or Erod or Ggon. I'm not screwing around here. I ask for patience on young players but at the same time... I'd like to avoid the audition of just one guy and giving every single inning to a guy who produces a sub .700 OPS for 3 years just to start over again. Don't waste roster space. Get serious about finding talent.

The author claims people are confused. If anyone is confused about the decision to roster him on the 26 man roster due to his left-handedness. WE HAVE 5 LEFT HANDED BATS ON THE 26 MAN ROSTER. Going from 4 to 5 shouldn't be confusing. The roster composition is actually 5 LH hitters, 5 RH hitters and 3 Switch Hitters. 72% of pitching is right handed. 28% of pitching is left handed. We currently attack the 28% left handed pitchers... let me repeat that... 28%... not the much larger 72% with the same lineup that consists of 5 Right handed hitters and 3 switch hitters leaving Matt Wallner as the only left handed hitter allowed in the lineup when the lower number 28% starts on the mound. That is 8 out of 9 standing in the right handed batters box to protect this team against the dreaded 28% left hander. On the other hand against the two Right Handed starting pitchers we have faced thus far. The Twins put 4 right handed hitters in the starting lineup against Bradish. 55% of the starting 9 stood in the left handed hitters box (3 left handers and 2 switch hitters). Against Baz... Caratini entered the lineup and Gray entered the lineup. Jeffers and Lee took a rest and the Twins were able to stuff the left handed batters box 66% of the time with 4 left handers and two switch hitters. Now go back to the 88% stuffing of the batters box we are doing the left handed starting pitcher. Then go back and consider 72% compared to 28%. We are once again... over focused on the wrong side... the smaller percentage side. WIth that said... I don't care... the Twins shouldn't be trying to math anything together... they should be looking for as much talent as they can find regardless of what batters box they stand in. And in the name of the need to find talent... Gray should be allowed to legitmately compete with Brooks Lee, Royce Lewis and Luke Keashcall and Josh Bell and Victor Caratini. In the case of Brooks Lee... Brooks Lee while I have huge hope for his future... He has not earned the right to play 162 games. Gray has a roster spot... he should be allowed to out play Lee if he is able.

In a static world I'd agree. In a fluid world... It can get better or it can get worse.

Or tradable

I get that. I think this overwhelming Larnach disgust that is expressed comes from different places but is expressed the same. Some see Larnach as a road block to Erod or Jenkins coming up. Some were hoping that the Twins would sign some big powerful free agent and look at Larnach as settling. Some are defense people that want a defensive stalwart that can also OPS .750 plus. I just disagree that Larnach specifically is fiddling around. I still look as Larnach as a development story in an organization that is lacking good development stories. He has developed and there is room for more. He's gotten experience and it should pay off... maybe this year... maybe not. I think he was strip mined for parts during his development years just like they did with Wallner, Kirilloff and Julien. Larnach still came out of it a professional hitter. Are the Twins going to strip mine Austin Martin for parts this year? Right handed hitting specialist pinch runner disposable development? If so... Just move on. He is destined to become MLB roadkill. If I was Larnach reading this website. I'd give you all the middle finger. 😄

I agree with every word in this post. I do not understand the front office approach this season at all. This year should have been all about the accumulation of talent with the goal of identifying future needle movers that will produce a roster of younger, cheaper and more athletic players. What ever happens in 2026... happens. It's about moving forward instead of fighting to stay afloat with the need to stay afloat next year. The team needs to understand that they can't try to build their roster like the Phillies because they will never have Phillies money to do it. Let the success/failure ratio at the younger level determine what needs to happen next. Instead of letting the success/failure ratio of one year contract vets leave the same hole every year regardless. If they are successful... they are gone... if they fail they are gone. Larnach isn't the future... I understand this. But, he is not an expiring contract so he has an opportunity to take what he has learned thus far and move it up a level. Next off-season he becomes an expiring contract and then the Larnach decision will be completely dependent upon his 2026 performance. I strongly disagree with the allocation of resources this year. Investing your limited funds to someone who as so far been the full time DH just takes the DH spot away from players like Larnach or anyone you want to feed playing time to. Spending 7 million on a backup catcher who is going to the bulk of his playing time at 1B makes no sense. Yes he lengthens out your lineup a little... that's wonderful but let's be clear. Caratini hits good for catcher. Not quite so good for 1B. Nearly no investment in the largest holes on the club... like the bullpen that they filled full of crafty 33 year olds. Anyway... the allocation of resources this off-season is head scratching and I still hope they prove me wrong. Right now... Larnach is not the problem. TD is treating Larnach like he stole food from starving children.

The attacks on Larnach are unyielding and ridiculous and they lack perspective. Therefore... My defense of Larnach also has to be unyielding and being unyielding leaves the impression that I think he is the greatest player ever. Gregg Masterson thinks my defense of Larnach seems personal. I just ask for proper perspective. PERSPECTIVE! PLEASE! You talk of balance in regards of the 2026 roster construction. I agree with you but how about some Larnach balance on Twinsdaily. Larnach is one of us. He was one of five professional hitters returning to the team. FIVE!. I do not consider Lewis and Lee in 2025 part of that group of five. However... Lewis and Lee can play 162 games while we stick our pitch forks in Larnach. I get it... some people really focus on defense. OK fine... go get a defensive corner outfielder if that's the key to victory but that isn't going to help solve our hitting problem. It was sure nice of Cody Christie to explain fielding run value to me in elementary terms. I ask everyone to please understand what is being thrown around. I ask everyone to understand how many defensive plays occur to an individual defender per game and I ask everyone to understand how many of those plays are simple routine plays. Ask yourself how often a needle moving play actually occurs. While considering the weighting... Ask Yourself how Ty France can go from -7 FRV in 2024 to +7 in 2025. Was he being fed range juice intravenously during the season? Think about that for just a bit and then ask yourself... is it possible that the majority of limited chances being routine is leaving a fairly unstable stat. That we just throw around like we understand the difference between Trevor's much maligned -7 and WIlli Castro's multi positional -7. Cody Bellinger went from zero to 9. Bobby Witt went from 11 to 20. Impressive Range increase from Mr. Witt. I'm sure he will be 20 every year from here on out. Bo Bichette fell from zero to -10. PERSPECTIVE is what I'm asking for.

There are quite a few calling for the tossing of Wallner. Twinsdaily is in interesting place because you can can get into a discussion on basically everybody and everything and find counter opinions on everything from Chafin to the sky being blue. Larnach being merely adequate at a lot of things adds up to adequate. This team has worse problems. Other players are great fielding and terrible at hitting. Others are great at hitting and terrible at base running. If you find a player that is good at every aspect of baseball they are going to price themselves out of target field. Most of them... you take their pluses and their minuses and end up with a huge congregation of players in the middle and hard line decisions are made on these players in the middle. I agree that Larnach may not be a part of the next good Twins team but that is not Larnach's fault. That is going to come down to Tom Pohlad and this crazy competitive plan he has for 2026.

https://www.mlb.com/news/twins-max-kepler-s-misplay-proves-costly-c225100252

I appreciate the post Cody. I really do. I want to start my reply with this: I am not anti-defense... I recognize defensive value. I've stated before and I will state again that the extra out or stolen out is one of the most important stats in all of statdom. The extra out provides extra opportunity to string hits together to produce crooked numbers. The Stolen out makes it much harder to string hits together to produce crooked numbers and I believe crooked numbers create wins. I only state this to say that I am not anti-defense. With that said... I really really question range statistics and the subsequent weighting of the range stats. There are many reasons why I question range stats that get folded into everything but I'll avoid going deep into it and just start with this. In the case of an outfielder. The sample size is already too small... 119 chances in 441 innings. 2 to 3 times a game a ball is hit in the vicinity of the left or right fielder. Every 3.7 innings is two or three balls a game. That small sample is then drowned out by the majority of plays being routine. Now we are talking about one influential play every 3 or 4 games and from that one influential ball it is weighted to the point that WAR will actually support a crappy hitting Max Kepler. individual throw cost us a run. Was the runner nailed with a perfect throw or would the runner have been nailed with an average throw. All we got to work with is... umm... 3. OK... if whoever says so... it must be so. But let's say those 3 throws are legit bad throws. How many bad throws did Max Kepler make? Were those bad throws hidden viewing by the plus 1, million and 25 points he got in the range factor numbers. And again... sample size... how many throws a week does a LF make that are legit moving the needle moments. How many throws are simply cut? The weighting is ridiculous and I reject it. With that said. Yes... We have better defensive outfielders on this team and I assume we have better fielders in the minor leagues. Is Larnach a butcher in left? The fans looking at these numbers are taking them to the extreme and calling him one. He isn't a butcher... he just isn't as good as others.

People just throw this **** around. Do I believe we have better defensive outfielders. Yes I do.. but people just throw this **** around. Exactly how did Trevor cost the team 7 runs? Tell me how the process works. I know the answer... but feel free to step up to the plate and break it down for me. 91% expected catch and 87% actual? Please break this down for me. 441 innings in the OF... 119 Total Chances. If it was 100 total chances... That is 4 balls that he didn't catch to take him from 91 to 87%. 441 innings in the OF... 119 Total chances... that's a ball hit in his direction every 3.7 innings and he is going to get tagged with 7 runs? To drop from 91% to 87% how many games per missed opportunity? Please people... think this through. Anyone can step up and break it down for me. If you can't... I'd recommend stop throwing this **** around.

So... forcing a go for it 2026 without adding go for it players in order to energize the fan base isn't working. This was the most head scratching off-season I could imagine. These poll results are a reflection of some terrible instincts since 2023. Pulling the financial plug after the 2023 playoff win just gut punched a momentarily happy fan base. Ahh... You guys are in a good mood... we can change that. Instincts should have told them to go young this off-season. Instead they invested 14 million into a fulltime DH and a backup catcher who will play 1B and DH to get playing time. While also putting together a bullpen of old crafty arms. Tom Pohlad is the last man standing in the front office... he is clearly in charge. We don't have to guess about the level of ownership involvement and I will no longer wonder who to look at, when the 2026 results roll in. Tom will get credit or Tom will get blame but we know who. Even with all that negativity typed by me. I am one of the hopeful 4%... until my words above are proven correct.

You gotta tune in today to find out.

Congratulations to Derek Shelton on his first win as the manager of our Minnesota Twins. Loved the Royce home run. This team needs Royce to be the Royce that was basically promised to us. So... I loved the Royce home run. It'll be Wallner's turn tomorrow. I'm calling it. Taj Bradley with a great start. I loved that. The guy has stuff.

I'm not sure if "Ace" is being tossed around with sarcasm or not. I'm not looking for "Ace" definition. However: Trevor Rogers in 2025: 109.2 Innings - 1.81 ERA. - .903 WHIP - 103 K's. - 29 BB's. Will he continue? That remains to be seen but those are some incredible numbers.

13 position players. 5 Right handed Hitters 5 Left Handed Hitters 3 Switch Hitters

Exactly This team should not be rostering specialists. It needs to be rostering players that they believe in.

You are correct that not many teams (if any) properly use all 13 roster spots like I think they should. I do believe it's important for all teams but something that is (in theory) less important for the big money spenders. Why? Because the big money spenders acquire real obvious separators. There is a big difference between Juan Soto and guy number 11, 12 or 13 on a roster. There isn't as big a difference between Josh Bell and guy number 11, 12 and 13 on the roster. Unless you decide... to purposely staff spots 11, 12 and 13 with bench players who can't even compete with Josh Bell. If you purposely choose players who can't compete with Josh Bell. You are wasting one of the 13 roster spots that you can use for development.... 13 roster spots that you can use to find the guy who could become Juan Soto in the future. The proof is in the pudding. When is the last time the Twins have developed an offensive player that had any kind of value when they reach free agency. Max Kepler's one year deal doesn't qualify. We deployed Kepler like he was Mike Trout in his prime. He hits free agency and he was a fall back option at best. We have this supposed log jam in the corners. Let those logs compete with each other. People here don't like Larnach and want to toss him aside like used gum. Bring in players to compete with Trevor... don't just hand Trevor an everyday job... you make him compete for his playing time... However... You need someone to out play him first. If Shelton decides to play Trevor every day while Outman watches. There is no point in Outman at all. Make Outman wait for a Larnach injury? So Outman comes in cold pulling bench splinters out his rear end and gets a prove RIGHT NOW 10 day sample size of playing time and then goes back to the bench when Trevor returns? What does a 10 day sample size do for anyone? If Outman goes 15 for 40 during that stretch with 3 homers. Did he just beat out Trevor on a small sample? I'd hope not because that would be equally mis-managed. Make players earn their playing time. This team only has Byron Buxton who deserves every day playing time. Maybe Keaschall... if he continues what he started and time will tell on that one. There is no log jam. We have the ability to start 2026 with Wallner, Larnach, Martin and Outman competing for playing time using the OF corners and the DH spot. Just letting Royce Lewis and Brooks Lee hit like crap without any competition is just going to keep you drafting early if they fail like 2025. All 3B Eggs and SS Eggs in those baskets and if they fail... who is going to pick up the ball and run with it. No Net... No Insurance... Just one roster spot and throwing everything into that roster spot for years. Lewis and Lee or bust where failure leads to Nolan Arenado signing with the Twins at age 40 to one year deal while we wait for the next Royce Lewis to take a 5 year extended crack at it. If you deploy all 13 roster spots at the overall problem... you can let the success failure ratio work for you... not against you. The success failure ratio has been working hard against us thus far. Outman taking a Keirsay role is pointless. This team isn't a pinch runner away from contention. This team is finding real talent away from contention. No specialists required. We don't need a short side platoon guy... we don't need a pinch runner. We need talent and we need to find it quick. If they use Outman in a Keirsay role. I'll agree with nearly everyone on this site. Just toss Outman out. He will never get the opportunity to establish himself. If he's taking a roster spot... let's see if he can out play Larnach, Wallner and Martin and let's take honest steps toward being better as 2026 progresses and honest steps toward being better in 2027. Accumulate talent... find it. Use 13 roster spots to find it... do not use predetermination to find it just to Lee or bust your way through two years... three years... four years. We've seen how well that has worked for us.

Put your best hitters at the top of the order because they will be the guys who have the highest possibility of getting 4 or 5 AB's in any given game. There is no reason over think this one. 38 Plate Appearances per team per game is the average. 38 Plate appearences is 4 times through the order plus two. So that's a 5th AB for Slot #1 and Slot #2. And if that is the case... those AB's will occur in the ninth inning. That's why you put your best hitters at the top of the lineup. Stolen bases... they can occur at any place in the lineup. Batting leadoff in an inning is only guaranteed to happen in the 1st inning... that's it.