tony&rodney

Interesting thoughts. Seems almost a given from article that the best team possible is rostered later in the year.

I'm fine with Vazquez and Jeffers as the catchers. My concern looks forward. Last October my first thoughts and ideas were towards adding 1-3 catching prospects via trade. Naturally, teams may not be amenable to trading their guys no matter what the offers. Perhaps the Twins tried, I have no idea. Picking up Cartaya was a good start. I will throw out my first idea and one other, both which may not be enough, possible, and each player could crater. First idea is to offer Brooks Lee for Jeferson Quero. Add Jorge Alcala if Milwaukee is open to the idea but wants more. Another idea is to offer Trevor Larnach for Endy Rodriguez. That would hurt the Twins a little bit. The present situation is decent but the team should consider how the position looks going forward.

Good call. Max was a rookie in 2016. He did get some at bats in 2015. Good to see what players have been put out there though. I wonder if we shall see one during the current front office reign?

I shall allow someone else to delve into the specific numbers but only two rookies (Arraez, Julien) received any votes for ROY since 2017. This lags far behind the votes received previously for rookies under prior front offices in the 21st century. My best guess for 2000-2016 would be 9-12 players receiving votes for ROY.

FYI. My comment was a reference to last March when I went to a number of high school games involving nationally ranked teams and marveled at the number of kids throwing in the 90s. In every game there were kids throwing 75-85 and one throwing 90-95. The wide variety of talent on display was impressive and a couple of those kids signed last summer.

True, neither threw very hard. They couldn't have because that was long ago.

Doc Gooden

I'm not suggesting who is or who isn't ready. I'm questioning the decisions and record. "To add on to this if you bring him up before he is ready you start the service time clock ticking. So between that and the 40 man factor I don’t see him up with the Twins this year barring crazy injuries." - Linus You said that if you bring a player up before they are ready the clock starts and also the use of the 40 person roster spot. You don't think Keaschall gets a shot until something crazy or an injury happens. Is this close? I'm questioning the decision-making process over time of when a player is ready.

Never doubt yourself. It leads to the wrong path.

When is a player ready? Some teams have no problem bringing a player directly from A+ or AA. Even the mighty NYY put Anthony Volpe at shortstop after 22 games at AAA. Volpe is a good player but hardly an All Star. The service clock is never a reason to lose games playing inferior talent. I'm not expecting anything but it seems radical to never play a rookie until nobody is left as an option.

Aaron Hicks. Yes. Thank you, I missed him. Felt I was missing a player too. I didn't consider players who had played substantially in another country's MLB. Does Aaron Hicks and his failure to star make him responsible for no more chances for rookies? JK.

The number of tools used in the last decade plus to assist pitchers has led to an explosion of talented arms across baseball. Watching a few skinny high school kids throw in the 90s, you know that a college or MLB organization will boost that kid up a notch. Pitching has become almost scary. I was also pleased to see the Twins draft and sign Dasan Hill after reading about him. The placement of his draft position reflects that Hill was seen as a project but also worth going over slot. Health will be a crucial factor in his year as stated in the article.

I'm not in a position to judge who is talented enough or deserves a roster position for an MLB roster, a factual "no duh" comment. Numerous young players, who would qualify as rookies and a few with minimal experience, have quite a bit of skill yet to learn at the minor league levels. Repetitions and regular game action are, IMO, important to the development of any player. Luke Keaschall, Emmanuel Rodriguez, Walker Jenkins, David Festa, Zebby Matthews, Payton Eeles, and others may need further skill development and consistent every day plate appearances to prepare them for the rigors of MLB competition. As a fan I cannot argue that point. However, are they already superior in talent to those holding a position above them and more likely to make a significant impact at the MLB level? When I look over the past 20 years of Twins baseball I couldn't find a single position player who was elevated to the lineup and given a shot to play at the MLB level. Did I miss someone? (Nishioka came over from Japan and had won a batting championship there. I don't consider Japanese baseball as a minor league experience.) That may be true of other teams as well, I simply don't know. The Twins have to go back to Joe Mauer. What does this say about the talent, development, or decision-making of the Twins? Anything? Maybe not. How many plate appearances will Walker Jenkins need? Emmanuel Rodriguez? If Julien needs time at 1B and Brooks Lee needs reps at 2B in St. Paul, how does that impact either Keaschall or Eeles? Jackson Holliday and Jackson Chourio were hyped prospects who received a long run before one succeeded and the other was sent back to AAA. Jackson Merrill had 300 PA at A+, 211 PA at AA, and zero at AAA before he was plopped into CF, a position he had never played, by the San Diego Padres. Merrill was not viewed in the same tier as either Holliday or Chourio (a tier where Jenkins currently resides) but was essentially in the same tier of prospect as Emmanuel Rodriguez and Luke Keaschall. Apparently the Padres saw something in their prospect that the Twins don't ever seem to see in their prospects. While I don't necessarily question any of the specific current decisions related to any specific rookies, I do question why it takes a sure-fire first ballot Hall of Fame player before the Twins take a chance on playing a prospect. I also wonder what some of the coaches believe, but from prior experience know this will never be known.

Leadership on a team is seldom something those outside a team are totally aware of because there are many facets. Puckett stood out whereas many others, including Correa and Buxton, may be identified and serve as go to interviews but not necessarily be completely identified as "leaders" for the entire team. It is complicated. Buxton seems to work hard at being friendly, available, and nonjudgmental. I laud him for those qualities.

The list of Twins core players stops after Byron Buxton and Carlos Correa. The catching tandem is fine and it is hopeful those two can fill the position one more time in 2025. After that it is a fair amount of hope based on promise, expectations, and health. Keaschall has a good shot at being a really good MLB player. The Twins need to find him a position at some point although he could easily just slide along as a DH, 1B, 2B, OF option until his arm and potential fielding skills allow him to settle at one position. One question remains - Can anyone identify the last Twins rookie to be inserted into an Opening Day lineup and given the time and at bats to prove themselves versus patiently waiting for an injury to open a spot?

Hold your to your instincts. Jacque Jones should be the answer. Feet and hands.

Jorge Polanco has bigger hands. I'll guess Jacque Jones.

"The Twins have the pieces to astound a lot of observers. It'll require some luck and unexpected consistency, but there is no reason to believe such an outcome isn't in its grasp. I might be guilty of rose-colored glasses, but I would forever prefer that to any other perspective." This, in a nut shell, is why every team including the Twins has optimism every Spring Training. My guess is the Twins win the World Series because it is possible as of today. As far as any anxiety related to payroll, I have never had a dose of that disease which so widely infected Twins Territory. The way I see it the Twins miraculously escaped signing the two most popular and called for free agent choices from last offseason, Rhys Hoskins and Jordan Montgomery. I guess a trade for Anthony Rendon might have been worse. I'm thinking positively for our guys. Go Twins in 2025.

" .... It fueled us in the front office to think about what we can do to be better." ?

Just to be clear, I have no idea if Falvey has any idea what he is doing because I don't see any consistent actions from him since he was hired in 2017 that points in any direction. I fully understand that the majority of people who visit and/or comment on Twins Daily feel differently and point to the Pohlads as the primary driver of roster deficiencies. I recommend differences of opinion in life. You call out DaShawn Keirsey Jr. and others mention Austin Martin. What organization is responsible for their play. Yesterday, I saw Aaron Sabato both in the field and at the plate. He looks like the poster of what this team desires. It then occurred to me that I wasn't sure who was the last Twin rookie to be put in the starting lineup on Opening Day and named the guy and subsequently given 3 months before judgment. Who was it? I also wondered if the Twins would have been better off the last 8-9 years if the team had operated on a budget that was closer to those of teams like Milwaukee and Tampa Bay. Perhaps then creativity would have been an actual thing. These are just thoughts that occurred to me watching the Twins yesterday. Simply stated I have no idea what is going on but things don't make sense to me. I'm thinking any success will come in spite of instead of because of.

Patience. Also, "your guy" comment? I would be perfectly fine with Keirsey Jr. as a fifth outfielder but nowhere have I discussed him. Maybe you confuse me with DoctorGast. My guys are Emmanuel Rodriguez, Luke Keaschall, and David Festa.

Enjoyed watching Twins baseball today (watched parts of various games the last two days). Early and thus unimportant observations - it is ST after all. But still..... Several Twins pitchers looked pretty good, including Festa and Castellano's curve ball. Twins didn't run the bases well, choosing not to steal in a couple of clear spots and ran into an out. A couple of throws to the wrong base, an awkward miss of a ball thrown on a hop, and an unusual cut mixup. Some players looked decent on plate appearances too: McCusker, Keaschall, martin, and Miranda come to mind. Others looked uncomfortable batting. Florida sun will always get somebody on a fly ball. Reading into it being Martin is just funny. Agree totally with Francona's take on ABS. Let the minor league players practice in the minor league games. MLB players can get to it when it is actually adopted. The strike three call on Cartaya was kind of mean by the umpire. The ball was clearly inside and Cartaya has used the last challenge on a previous pitch. It looked like Cartaya, looking into the dugout, was encouraged to challenge a close pitch and he did. No way to know unless someone says something but a guy picked up in trade off of waivers isn't likely to be challenging pitches called by an MLB umpire. A month of practice and games should sharpen the team and I like the Twins pitching.

I agree that everyone has an opinion.

Oh, ok, thank you. I saw that too but since there wasn't any quotes I just attributed it to Cody guessing like we do and not to anything that actually was taking place. I just haven't seen anything reputable put out on an asking or buying price other than the estimated values by Forbes and a bunch of other sites, none of them having any more legitimacy than you and I as sources. Well, you would be better than me as a source since i only know what I read.

I have understood this from the very beginning and stated such. MAYBE use Rube Nation for our national politics but it isn't fair or accurate to lump the many differences found among us on Twins Daily into one piece.