Riverbrian

To me... It isn't the lack of hitters above .340. It's the number of hitters below .300. Those are the players who will kill ya. I'd' love me some superstars but I can live with average. The hitters who are well below average getting playing time will keep you out of the playoffs. 17 players had over 178 PA's during the season. 8 of them were below .300 wOBA and under .300 isn't good. Here are the names: Kepler, Martin, Farmer, Kirilloff, Julien, Margot, Lee and Vazquez.

.389 is not sustainable. That shouldn't or really can't be argued. However... I'm not one of those who think it indicates a crash is coming because BABIP is high. Yeah... .389 is off the charts compared to the average BABIP of .293 across baseball. However... Matt Wallner has been high BABIP throughout his limited work over 3 seasons. His career BABIP is .359. BABIP is often considered a luck stat. Yes there is some luck in the game of baseball but I still contend high BABIP is primarily a quality of contact stat and it doesn't have to be a case of Blood Sweat and Tears Spinning Wheel... What goes up must come down. Hit the ball harder... the less time a fielder has to catch the ball and the higher the BABIP. People tend to look at a high BABIP negatively as a sign of upcoming regression. I don't look at it that way... I look at high BABIP as a sign of good hitting. There are players with consistent high BABIP year after year... a lot of them are also in the upper echelon of hard hit%. Matt Wallner has been living in that upper echelon of hard hit% with some pretty impressive high BABIP names year over year. His K rate... yeah... he needs to work on bringing that down... if he does... Look out. If anybody wants to trade Matt Wallner to me because of BABIP fueled regression fear. I'll trade a nice low BABIP guy to you so you take the elevator up. Carlos Santana and his .252 BABIP for Wallner and his .389. Straight up. Deal?

It's the recurring bill that comes due for not growing your own. Fail to grow your own catcher who plays somewhere between 40 to 60% of the time. Leads to having to pay 30 million for an average catcher who plays 40 to 60% of the time. Make the determination that this 30 million dollar catcher with a .575 OPS can't be competed with and he keeps 40 to 60% of the playing time. Leads to providing no playing time while you burn 40 and 26 man space on a young catcher who won't play because .575 can't be competed with. Leads to 30 Million dollar catcher reaching the end of his contract. Leading to still failing to grow your own catcher because .575 can't be competed with or the developed catcher can't out play .575. Leading to signing another inflated contract for a player who plays 40 to 60% of the time or trade for some other teams developed catcher at an inflated price for a player who plays 40 to 60% of the time. Which leads to.

You and I clicked on something earlier. Catcher Development. We agree that catcher development has been a problem with our club and the 30 million we will end up paying for Vazquez when it is all said and done is a prime example of why catcher development has been not just a problem but a significant problem. In 2024 - Jeffers and Vazquez each caught in 86 games last year. Cal Raleigh led the league in games caught with 135. Wilson Contreras led all catchers in AB's with 595 of them but that was 120 games caught and 35 games at the DH spot. You are well researched so I know you know this. Catchers are not full time players... Even the best of the best are not full time players. They require frequent rest or maintenance days. A catcher catching 162 games isn't going to happen. Yet if you want to acquire one... they cost the same as a full time player capable of 162 games with decent production. From an offensive only standpoint they cost more because defense is obviously a big part of their equation. Therefore... Teams need to grow their own in order to avoid paying the cost to sign or trade for a good one or in the case of Vazquez... an average one at best. Average only because his defense brings him to average after you calculate the well below average of his bat. In consideration of the inflated catcher value across baseball... Teams need to grow their own so they can take advantage of the market, trade a good one they developed while the next one takes over. After 2023... It probably would have been smart to cash in on the excess value of Ryan Jeffers in the off-season and bring up the next young catcher to challenge the catcher we over paid for in Vazquez. Of course the next young catcher didn't exist because the next young catcher couldn't be trusted to best a .575 OPS. Catcher development has been slow. If they can't develop catching from the 8th round... they best starting looking in the 2nd round and place more priority on the position... because Catchers are always over pays. If you are lucky enough to develop excess talent at the position you can turn one into a CF or SP with a phone call. If Jeffers and Vazquez are going to cover all the playing time and if Camargo was worth something. The pipeline is now clogged... if you had a pipeline which we don't. It is incredibly frustrating to me that we sit here October 2024 looking at the current catching situation with a diminished value Jeffers and a 10 Million Dollar AAV that we can't afford for an offensively struggling Vazquez locked in. Followed by a guy who the manager won't play and followed by a guy who has caught 9 games in AA and an upcoming Rule 5 40 man roster decision. If there is any good new out of this. The Twins are not alone in the catcher development department. Because the Twins are not alone... that is why the market value is inflated.

Gray is often times not understood in the black and white world we live in. As Mike Sixel says... It's a dial not a light switch. I'm stealing that from Mike and pretty soon I'll stop crediting him and claim it as my own. 😎 My black and white starts here. Terrible performance is what kills you. Competition for playing time is the only way to fix that. It doesn't always fix it but the alternative is driving around in something broken because you settled for a broken car. Who gets to compete for playing time... that's a whole bunch of grey area. I don't claim to know who but I can watch a guy OPS .575 and a guy on the 26 man sitting, watching it happen without opportunity and wonder... how bad is this guy who can't even get a sniff with .575 in front of him? Front offices get it wrong often enough that I have a real problem with pre-determination and I've had enough watching and waiting for Logan Morrison types to be taken out of the lineup. These types are what kill you. It isn't the lack of Shohei's on your roster that bring you down. It's bad baseball that knocks you out of the playoffs with a double digit lead. Someone needs to push the players playing bad. Ultimately my point was... If Camargo only gets 7 AB's over 20 some games on the 26 man roster and the guy in front of him is solid with job security with a .575. They certainly can't trade Vazquez now and hand the job to Camargo in the off-season because the Twins have pre-determined the outcome that Vazquez is untouchable and made him untouchable by providing nobody in touching distance.

I'm not getting at anything other than Vazquez was obviously unchallenged for playing time if they are not willing to let Camargo try to clear an extremely low offensive bar. I'm not going to pretend that I know who Camargo is as a major league baseball player or even a AAA player because all I see are his stats. I'm saying that he is basically worthless if letting him try to out perform a .525 OPS would set the team back... I'm saying that he is basically worthless if the team is willing to intentionally let the .525 OPS set the team back playing every other day from game 1 to game 162 because this Camargo guy is going to OPS ,524 and you just can't have that. If what you are saying is true... He had no business taking up 40 man roster space last year and he certainly had no business taking up 26 man roster space for the tiny total of 7 AB's. If what you are saying is true... the front office ignored the catcher position because the catcher health we had is rare. Please don't believe that I'm defending Camargo. I haven't convinced myself of anything other than. If you got someone with a .525 OPS... you can't say... Eureka... we found our guy. Hold everyone else back... it simply can't be topped. If you can't let a player even try to clear that bar for fear of the carnage settling for simple .525 OPS carnage... get that player off the 26 man immediately and if he has no future in the sport of baseball... get him off the 40 man roster immediately. No one is claiming him. You won't lose him. If they were just going to sign Andrew Knizner when Jeffers or Vazquez gets hurt and Camargo was never an option to be #2. Just go get Andrew Knizner before Arizona does. What the hell do we need Camargo on the 40 man roster for? Why would he spend a second on the 26 man roster? He can't clear .525 Roster filler... That's what Camargo was? Well no wonder we collapsed with no place to turn. All eggs were in one basket.

It's Martha and the Vandela's in the Bullpen. You can't hide players in the bullpen. Stop trying to hide players in the bullpen. Bullpens are utilized to point of nowhere to run nowhere to hide. Most games are not blowouts, the guy you are trying to keep out of high leverage are going to find themselves the only option frequently because 3 bullpen guys are unavailable and there are still 4 innings to play in a tie game. Stop committing valuable roster space to specialists. Managers typically don't stack their left handed batters back to back to back so a left handed specialist can just come face three left handers and sit down. Managers don't have the luxury of holding a specialist for perfect opportunity moments because 3 bullpen guys are unavailable and there are still 4 innings to play in a tie game. That Steven Okert dude who is tough on lefties is going to have to face right handers. In 2024 before he was released in crunch time. He faced 95 right handed batters to the tune of a 2.00 WHIP compared to 65 left handed batters faced to the tune of a 0.94 WHIP. He did his job against the lefties... he just can't be manipulated to the point of only facing them and he couldn't get right handers out. I don't recommend trying to Okert your way through a 162 game schedule. Get bullpen serious stop with the specialists.

Perfect for Camargo I bought a Yo-Yo a couple of decades ago for my kids. They spun that thing maybe once and then it sat on the shelf untouched for the rest of it's existence.

No doubt... It's a pretty disappointing stat line from Camargo. His 2023 stat line was much better. 21 Dingers... .826 OPS in 2023. He got himself one of those 40 man spots in the off-season so there was a time when the Twins must have thought he was worth something and he kept that 40 man spot all year. Still has it. Yet by April 13th... granted... still sitting in small sample land. Camargo was called up to replace an injured SS when Correa strained an oblique. Granted... its a little early to jettison players off the 40 man or react to small samples. The injuries came quick and the injuries didn't come at the catcher position. It was either Camargo or Severino so the Twins went with a third catcher to replace our superstar SS and he didn't play. Camargo was batting third for the Saints with an OPS of .825 on April 12 much like his 2023 season OPS that earned him that 40 man spot. Max Kepler returned on April 21 sending Camargo down to AAA. On the day that Camargo was sent down to AAA to resume his .825 OPS... Vazquez was sitting with a .158 OPS and .222 slug. The Twins were 7-12 at the time. Sarcastically from me... It seems... By April 21st the Twins had determined that Camargo could never out play Vazquez. Determined that if Camargo would have played during this time... the Twins would have been 5-14 instead of 7-12 without Vazquez. I'm sure my sarcasm isn't the case... there has to be more to the story because... Camargo kept that 40 man spot all year. He kept that 40 man spot on July 12th when he was called back up to replace Kyle Farmer who had a shoulder strain. Again the Twins went with a stable of 3 catchers to replace a infielder. On July 11... Gardenhire was batting Camargo 4th in the lineup with an OPS of .729. Who else was in AAA on July 11? Severino OPS .841 and Julien OPS .763 both were on the 40 man roster. On July 11th... Severino went 3 for 6 with two home runs his 17th and 18th of the year against the Iowa Cubs. Camargo was called up instead. Also in St. Paul on July 11th not on the 40 man... Keirsay OPS .810 and Castillo OPS .777... Castillo was given a roster spot and called up two days later when it was determined that Miranda's back could use some rest. Boushley was DFA'd to accommodate. Julien would be recalled on July 20 when Correa was placed on the injured list as the injured list is making a noticeable humming noise. Camargo is sent down on July 25th. Up with the big club for two full weeks exactly. On July 24th. Vazquez was the holder of a .196/.222/.293 slash. Also on July 24th... Ryan Jeffers was in an extended slump thing with a .587 OPS over his last 170 AB's since May 15th. Camargo kept watching from the bench for two full weeks. Can't play Camargo because we might lose... can't take him off the 40 man because we might lose him? If anyone ever wonders why I believe that player assessment is hard for all 30 front offices. Why I believe that assessment is hard because the margins are incredibly thin. Why I believe that front offices, managers, coaches and scouts are able to silently kill careers based on pre-determinations on small margins that are often wrong. Just follow the travels of 2024 Camargo. Assessed Camargo good enough for a 40 man spot but not good enough to out play a .575 OPS You are right... Catcher Development Has Sucked. Which is unfortunate because Catchers are consistent over pays. You develop a catcher... teams will over pay to acquire that catcher. If you don't develop your own catcher.. you will have to over pay to acquire a catcher. For example 30 million paid to bring in Vazquez. Could you trade Vazquez? Nope... because the Twins have failed to develop a catcher. Instead we acted like a 33 year old with .575 OPS could not be replaced.

You keep Vazquez because Camargo was: Called up April 13 and Sent Down April 22 then Called up July 12 and sent down July 25 then Called up September 9 and sent down September 11 then Called up September 26 and sent down September 27. During these times of 26 man roster assignment for Jair Camargo. He had 7 AB's. If the Twins traded Vazquez and handed the back up job to Camargo this off-season. I'd drive to 1 Twins Way and throw tomatoes at the window. Free Agent Catchers are expensive. If the Twins traded Vazquez and picked up a free agent catcher to replace Vazquez. It will also be expensive. If the catcher we acquire is not expensive... the catcher acquired will not be better than Camargo. If the Twins trade for a catcher to replace Vazquez. The trade will be expensive from a talent stand point because catching is expensive.

I'm not selling him because I don't think he is high enough to sell right now. Actually I'm not selling him because I'm counting on him next year. Lewis is often injured. Kirilloff is often injured. Julien might play a little 1B. Pete Alonso most likely isn't coming. Miranda is on my roster.

The Twins should absolutely sign Willi Castro and Keep him. I have no problem with WIlli Castro. He's a decent ballplayer with multi position ability with speed that the club sorely lacks. With that said... here is the problem that I have with Castro. Willi Castro is not a problem. Willi Castro leading the team in AB's is a problem. 102 OPS+ should not lead a team in AB's and our ultra platoon system will have Willi leading the team in AB's in 2025. Our injury history with our best returning players will lead to Willi Castro leading the team in AB's in 2025. We have over inflated his value due to the Twins prioritization of keeping our platooning system intact. Wallner, Larnach, Julien or Kirilloff will occupy the 3 long side platoon roster spots. Castro's splits don't justify one of the three short side spots and I don't believe we can afford to pay 6 million for a short side spot anyway. This means Castro will get one of 5 every day spots with a 102 OPS+. That's a problem. Utilizing Castro every day like he is Mookie Betts is a problem.

Yep For the health of the sport. MLB and the players association needs to understand that there needs to be hope in Pittsburgh. In the NFL... there is hope in Pittsburgh and Green Bay and Jacksonville. OK... Maybe not Jacksonville 😄 Baseball has a chance at being a national sport when all the small markets are added together as happy consumers of the sport. The first step is the owners and players union working together under the common goal of providing hope to Pittsburgh, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Cincinatti, Minnesota and so on. In the meantime. I'm going to understand the reality that has been reality for decades in the sport of baseball. The owners and players union are going to fight over money until it goes off the cliff. I'm not going to get excited about labor negotiations because I understand that it is money fighting over money and agreement after agreement doesn't change anything and the end result will not be in MY best interest once again. And finally... I will always understand that the Twins will spend in a range along with other teams and that payroll will go up and down in that range. And I will also understand that even if the Twins raised that payroll range up a bit to lets say... Cardinal Territory... they will still be 100 million short of what other clubs are able to do.

I agree 100%. Very well said. There is no question that having money to spend is a rather large advantage. I agree with what you say. The primary advantage is that money provides the ability to cover large contract mistakes. The Dodgers can easily eat millions of dollars in waste. They can pay 17 million to Paxton and Margot to play for other teams. They can just release Heyward and Biggio's and absorb the financial hit. They can absorb the money they spent for a total of 90 Innings of Yamamoto. They had young pitchers like Gavin Stone, Landon Knack and River Ryan filling in quite capably in the meantime. The Yankees can absorb around 64 million to players like Stroman, Verdugo, Rizzo and Lemehieu who probably shouldn't have made that kind of money based on performance. Again... to be clear... I believe that payroll is a rather large advantage that the wealthy enjoy but this discussion is very nuanced. Yes the Rangers won with the 4th highest payroll last year. A. They barely got in B. Around 100 million of that 4th ranked payroll was either unavailable or not effective come playoff time. C. The 119m D-Backs gave them a run for the money after they knocked off the 240m Dodgers to get there. If the purpose of this article is to express that the Twins would have been more successful if they just spent more money. Maybe... money is helpful... it is an advantage. However... I do feel it necessary to point out that there is a rather large canyon between spending some more money and the financial ability or willingness to just absorb 50 to 100 million in non-performing money like the Big Boys can do.

Yes... These matchups exist in the playoffs. Are we done now? Did you just win the argument? Do you honestly believe that I don't understand that these matchups exist in the playoffs. ESPECIALLY WHEN I JUST ACKNOWLEDGED THAT PLATOONING EXISTS ON ALMOST ALL 29 TEAMS DURING THE REGULAR SEASON. Why do you ignore what I say... in order to make a point that I'm not saying? Do you think these playoff matchups as you call them WERE PUT TOGETHER IN MARCH when you are putting the roster together and spending the budget? Do you think that entire analytics team gets it 100% right? I don't claim to be 100% right. Still got my opinions that you are ignoring just so you can put opinions that I'm not making in my mouth. STOP DOING THAT!!! Do you think that I don't know that the Twins have an ENTIRE ANALYTICS DEPARTMENT? Yet... you want to play that card with me. Might as well just shut down the forums. None of us... INCLUDING YOU have a leg to stand on in that regard. Do you think that I don't know that the other 29 teams have an ENTIRE ANALYTICS DEPARTMENT? Do you think the analytics compiled by all 30 teams are that much different from the other teams? Do you think they decide what they prioritize? Yet the Twins platoon more severely than any other team. They set their roster to prioritize protecting the left handed hitter. Is their data special? Are the other 29 teams doing it wrong? I can be ridiculous with you just like you are being with me? What else have you got for me? Do you want to bring up how revenue strapped clubs like the Twins need to survive even though I've never asked for a high priced free agent or complained about payroll? I know you like how Cleveland has built their roster because you use them as an example of how markets of our ILK must operate. Why do they have 7 left handed hitters and two switch hitters on their roster if the ENTIRE TWINS Analytics department has concluded that left handed hitters must be kept from left handed pitching. Don't answer the question. I'm really not interested in anything you have to say. What other point that I haven't made do you want to claim I've made? I again ask... Less Kindly this time. Quit trying to interpret my thoughts. You are horrible at it.

Whining? This is you being belligerent once again and why you will remain on ignore. I will respond one more time and then leave you alone forever because this thread will be derailed by continueing the discussion. "State your interpretation". I have purchased more real estate on the subject than anyone on this site. I have typed more column inches than anyone on the site. I have stated my position over and over again. I have approached it comprehensively. You still condense and distort it, don't understand it and you do so belligerently. This is a pet subject of mine much like revenue is a pet subject of yours. My opinions are posted. Let me simplify it for you since everything that I've typed thus far has gone over your head and you are asking for interpretation. Don't roster short siders. Especially when you spend 10 million dollars of very limited revenue on them. I'd rather spend the limited amount of money available on a player or players who hit better against right handed pitchers. They will end up facing more right handers than left handers which will cancel out the limited gain their presence on the roster might provide. I never typed that I want 13 left handers in the lineup. You said that I did. This is a distortion and this is what you consistently and belligerently do... therefore I have no interest in discussing anything with you. I am not anti-platoon,.. I recognize the splits as historically real. I am anti the extreme version of the platoon that we deploy. Almost every team platoons. The Guardians (the subject of this thread) platoon pretty heavy. I wouldn't starve a young left handed hitter like Kyle Manzardo vs left handers much like the Twins do with our young left handed hitters. I think it's bad for development but almost every team platoons. The difference is that Cleveland did not spend 10 million on short siders. They have rostered more left handed hitters than right handed hitters. They didn't yank out the left handed hitters in the 5th inning in May. They spent the minimum on each of the players that they utilized from the right side of the plate and they still get their playing time against right handed pitching despite having an overwhelming left handed roster. David Fry has 206 AB's vs RH and 129 AB's vs LH. Noel has 122 vs RH and 57 vs LH. Compare that to the Twins: Margot had 159 AB's vs RH and 156 vs LH. Farmer had 108 AB's vs RH and 107 AB's vs LH. Due to talent... the Twins had to manage their short siders much steeper and still couldn't shield them from RHP and they paid 10 million for it. Fry and Noel did a little more to earn their place on the 26 man roster than our short siders. Fry produced a .804 OPS overall and Noel produced a .774 compared to Farmer producing .646 OPS overall and Margot producing a .626 overall. This was what we got for 10 million. Nearly a 50-50 split with RH and LH AB's so the gains were cancelled out. While Cleveland got closer to a 2 to 1 ratio of RH/LH for the league minimum and better production. The Yankees didn't platoon much at all during the regular season. Now that the playoffs are here they have went to a Rizzo/Berti platoon. They got a season worth of data to make that decision... regardless if the decision is right or wrong or some place in between. There are multiple reasons why I feel the way I do. I have typed all of the reasons over the course of time. You still belligerently misrepresent my opinions. No matter how many words I type and I have typed a lot of words on it... you still manage to reduce/condense the tons of what I've said... into something that I didn't say and then act like a jerk about it. I kindly ask that you quit trying to interpret my points. You and I have no reason to ever discuss anything ever.

You are still on ignore and you will remain on ignore. The assumptions of mine that you list are not my assumptions. They are once again distortions of my positions. Once again.. you don't understand and you don't understand belligerently. I ask kindly that you refrain from interpretation of my thoughts.

Over the course of 162 games. We lost 4 more games than the Royals and Tigers did. 1 more loss every 40 games, The margins are pretty thin. Too thin for games not to matter. On the other hand... The Yankees lost 68 games last year. They had some straightening out.

They are two hugely different things. In the playoffs... Platoon all you want. You'll have a season worth of data to help you with who to lean on in the playoffs.

They have been so heavy on this course since Julien and the Young Lefties (Great Band) hit the scene. I'd be shocked if they reversed course. However... they were heavy on the third time through the order thing with the starting pitching and pulled back on that so I still have hope that they are capable of getting closer to a normal application of the platoon split. While they were doing the third time through the order thing they took it to a new level. Kind of like drinking 4 bottles of wine a night when a glass of wine is good for you. Now they have taken the lefty vs lefty thing to 5 bottles of wine a night. I'm hoping that Margot and Farmer facing more right handers than left handers this year showed them the issues with the strategy. I'm hoping that injuries we suffered at the top of the pile and will suffer again showed the need for a deeper roster with less specialty on it because we will need them to be more than what they are. I'm hoping that injuries we suffered showed that at some point the plan is not sustainable through the course of 162 games and that they realize the need to use games earlier in the year to prepare for suddenly needing your left hander to hit left handed pitching in September because the right handed hitters are on the DL. I'm hoping that they realize that Castro and Santana leading the team in AB's is not ideal. I'm hoping that they realize that signing Margot's every year to keep the integrity of it in place is not good strategy. I'm hoping that they realize that nothing is more important than the development of our cheap talent and that hiding them from the certain aspects of the game of baseball is not helpful in their development. I'm hoping that the playoff teams that were heavy lefty showed success without it and I'm hoping that the success of the Detroit Tigers with a roster made of youth shows them that youth isn't scary... crappy playing veterans is much more scary. I'm guessing of course... However... if they are going to adjustments... I assume it would have to be a little on the dramatic side given assumed financial limitations. If Payroll is going to limit possibilities... they pretty much have to roll with the majority of the 40 man already in place. Leaving multiple trades to free up money as the only option. Unless they surprise me... I expect the majority of the current 26 man and the 40 man to be in place.

Yep... They will rue the day. Some of us may not notice the specific rue but yes they will. It's almost guaranteed. The consequence... the "rue".... the bill that will have to be paid in the future is: 1. They will have to limit the amount of lefthanders on the roster just to execute the strategy because you are limited on how many you can protect. 2. They will eventually have to face left handers because there are more lefties than they can protect and if they need to face left handers all of sudden... two years will have been wasted... when they all of sudden have no choice. 3. Aging vets will need to occupy roster space or worse yet... Young prospects from the right side of the plate will be utilized for short side duty. Even Kepler went through a significant stretch of time this season being protected against left handers. It happened when Julien was sent down and all of sudden they were light on lefties and heavy on right handed specialists. Margot was here to play against right handers so Kepler would sit so Margot could play. It became necessary to justify the existence of Margot. Kepler faced lefties when we had 4 lefties... once you lose a lefty to injury or poor play and go down to 3. Kepler has to fill the role just to keep the process intact. The Twins worked real hard just to keep this platoon strategy in tact throughout injuries and poor play. The commitment to the bit was impressive but sad. They will rue the day. I'm already ruing.

I've been singing this song for quite some time now. And I don't believe I will stop singing this song. 75% of Pitching is right handed pitching. The Twins need to stop employing specialists like Margot and Farmer to face the 25% of left handed pitching just so Wallner doesn't have to face them. Especially when you consider the fact that our 3 best players (Correa, Buxton and Lewis) who will face both left and right are often injured and show no signs of not being often hurt. Because when they get hurt... it draws Margot and Farmer into the lineup against right handers. Both Margot and Farmer faced more right handers than left handers in 2024. With our injury luck we can't afford to waste roster spots on specialists. Get more left handed hitters or hitters that are better against the 75% and take your lumps against the left handed pitching. You mention Miranda... you are spot on. Miranda is still developing. Making him a short side specialist at this stage of his career will turn him into nothing of future value.

And yet... in 2024... Cleveland led the major leagues in plate appearances by left handed hitters. 3,984 of them. The Orioles were 2nd with 3602 of left handed PA's. The Blue Jays were last with 1,925. The Twins were 18th ranked with 2,588 Cleveland will roll out a lineup of L,L,S,L,R,L,L,L,S against right handed pitchers. The only R in that group is Lane Thomas acquired at the trade deadline. The top 7 players ranked by plate appearances in 2024 were lefty or switch. Against left handed pitching... the top 4 ranked by AB's were switch, left, left, left.

Personally... I'd like to see the club increase the overall team speed. I'd like to see this... perhaps more than anyone. I'm watching what the Brewers and Guardians did on the base paths and it seems to be a clear weapon to create runs when runs are hard to come by. The rule changes have brought speed back into the game. However... as badly as I'd like to see team speed increased for better balance. I think it's important for all baseball teams. The players with speed still have to be able to hit the ball. I'm not going to advocate signing Garrett Hampson because he has some wheels.

Not many. Do they have to turn into a full time starters? Can they just turn into David Fry? Actually... can they just do better than Manuel Margot, Kyle Farmer or Cristian Vazquez did last year. 3 players who kept a roster spot all season long. The Twins committed 1,440 AB's to players who performed under .655 OPS for the year. Right now... Michael Helman is listed on the 26 man roster on roster resource. Does anybody really expect the 28 year old Helman to be on the 26 man roster opening day? I expect them to pay 4 million to a 30 year old Manuel Margot type instead. I expect players like Alex Verdugo and Alex Kirilloff to get chance after chance instead. Now I understand that the front office is supposed to know that Helman could never out perform Manuel Margot. They may be right. However... if they do indeed know these things. How did we end up with 1,440 AB's from players under .655 OPS. If they are that precise with their knowledge... they must have known that those players would OPS under .655 OPS for 1,440 AB's or so... and they rostered them anyway. If front offices know these things. How did the Mets choose Brett Baty over Mark Vientos? I don't know what a 28 year old Michael Helmen will do in the majors if given a chance. I make no claims. However... I am pretty sure that he won't be given a chance. Someone like Travis Jankowski will take that opportunity away from him. The end result of this sort of thing. Not many is the answer to your question.