tony&rodney

And no less an authority than Paul Molitor, among others, have stated how unselfish Mauer was to play his career as a catcher because his ceiling was virtually unlimited as a batter playing in the field. Mauer was the only person ever named athlete of the year in two major sports when he was in high school and he was good enough to start as a freshman for any D1 major power basketball program in basketball as well. If you never saw him in person as a high school athlete and have seen seen others of significant accolades you have no comparison. In multiple sports, particularly basketball and baseball, i have seen a multitude of stars up close and Mauer ranks amongst the greatest of athletes of my decades long career. Nobody can definitively state X number of base hits (mine was just a wild hair-ass guess), but the talent was there. Catching is so far removed from any other position that it is impossible to compare. Imagine if pitchers had to win 325+ games in their career. There is a reason so few catchers are in the Hall of Fame. If you have never caught a minimum of 100 nine inning games in a year for a half dozen years, you simply do not have a reference point. Mauer was among the top athletes in baseball for decade. His peers were in awe of him and he never really gained the level of respect locally that he did nationally. Yes, I'm way out there, but only because of the number of professional athletes I have seen as a comparison to Mauer. So, I guess you know where I am on that. Of course there are those who simply disagree and many people of those are still jealous about his contract. Fine. Walker Jenkins has a long road to go and health is his number one challenge. He also has to evade the circus of social media and a society that has its sole god, money, as a focus which can tantalize and ruin many a career in the hyper competitive world of athletics. I wish Jenkins well on his journey and hope he drags our Twins into a World Series or two .... or more.

Is this Falvey's idea of "creative"?

This year, 2024/2025, the answer is no. Good speculation though.

If Joe Mauer had played his entire career at any other position, other than as a pitcher, he would have won a entire trove of batting championships, had well more than 3300 base hits, etc. He was a catcher by choice (demand if you will) and the best in baseball. I don't think many Minnesotans still understand the respect that Mauer had among players in MLB as a pure athlete. We can only hope that Walker Jenkins has it all together like Mauer, and boy it would be sweet. Wouldn't it?

Yes he does and I, for one, would not bet against him. His biggest challenges are his head and injuries.

I sure hope he maintains that swing and let the doubters doubt all the through a Hall of Fame career.

I think the closest comparison to EmRod amongst current Twins is Matt Wallner. Nothing Julien does is very similar to Rodriguez except for their both having a good idea of the strike zone. As far as just watching hittable pitches, one might throw Jeffers or other names in the hat too.

I wrote about that a couple of summers back. The attention and focus were all over the place. EmRod played young. FWIW, I saw a major improvement in his play for Wichita. The skills are there. How much can he adjust and show focus on a daily basis. That is the key. I'm not seeing where he learns anything more in the minor leagues and punishing him for how inconsistent he played in Ft. Myers and Cedar Rapids doesn't make any sense at all.

Does anyone else wonder if Jenkins will hit like Joe Mauer? Is that blasphemy or a template for criticism? Walker has a sweet swing and oozes athleticism. "Hopefully, a run of clean health..." Seems like his ticket is health and repetitions. I'm looking forward to watching him next season. I think Twins fans should be totally excited about this guy.

The next negotiations between MLB owners and the MLBPA should be interesting. MLB is increasingly tilting towards an uncompetitive situation due to the massive increase in the gap between clubs in terms of revenue. The Dodgers may pay near 10 times the payroll of their neighbors in Sacramento this year. At the minimum they are well past twice what a middle payroll can reach. Will they triple the Twins? One has to wonder how this plays out across baseball. Blake Snell can be dominant at times but that contract would be excessive for even many large market franchises.

Even this projection, which I won't dispute, puts the pitching in a better spot relative to other MLB teams than the position player group. Seems like you make a case, without actually stating it, for Falvey to get to work fixing the lineup.

No issues with anyone's opinions. I just wondered how many times you have seen EmRod play? I'm also quite high on both Keaschall and Morris because I like what I have seen as they have developed in the past two seasons. I have watched Morris pitch about eight or nine times and have seen dozens of Keaschall's plate appearances. I am always curious if people have watched these prospects numerous times in their games, watched video clips, or looked over stats. I would not expect that many people had actually attended numerous games of many prospects because they play in different locales all the time. One can watch the games via milb.com though.

The Twins would like to have another really good starting pitcher and my suggestion is to overwhelm Miami in an attempt to acquire Sandy Alcantara. That is extremely unlikely and the Twins don't reach high very often, There may be some other opportunities too, but I'm pretty content with the starting pitching. Last year Louie Varland and Zebby Matthews were cuffed up with a rude greeting to MLB. The top four were pretty consistent. Now depth is a real difficult word to use with any pitching staff. Ask the Dodgers about their top ten starting pitchers going into last season and the subsequent injuries. Stuff happens, so we should avoid talking about depth. Chris Paddack over David Festa would be strictly a scholarship award. Since 2019, Paddack has had a rough go of it. If he stays, we all hope he turns back into the 2019 model. We might as well call Nelson Cruz too. Doubt aside, one doesn't ever know where injured pitchers find their status. Seems like Festa, barring a solid addition, should be allowed to compete for a rotation spot in Spring Training. As usual, injuries are the cloud over every starting pitching staff in baseball. I'm feeling decent about the Twins guys right now.

I agree with your second point. Bat discipline? How many plate appearances of Emmanuel Rodriguez have you watched in the last year or two? There isn't anyone in the Twins system who has his discipline. I would agree with those who say that the Twins will not start ER at the MLB level. I totally disagree with that decision though. I guess the best argument was put forth by chpettit19. As was already stated, we shall just agree to disagree.

I think this is where the two sides are regarding Prospect #2. Personally, I have seen enough of him to take my stand, which may be way off. I did not have the same confidence with any of Lewis, Lee, Miranda, Julien, Wallner, or Larnach to name a few. The future is wide open. Let us all hope Falvey & Sons does something though. Is Eeles Prospect #1? jk

There is a clear divide on Emmanuel Rodriguez among folks on Twins Daily. Some feel he must spend more time in the minors to prove himself. A few of those folks believe the best use of EmRod is in a trade because they do not see him as a difference maker for the Twins. The other group, which seems smaller, thinks EmRod should be in the lineup on Opening Day for the Twins. Eventually, we shall get our answer. A couple of points worth considering are that any comparison to Julien rests solely on their high walk rates. Everything else about them is different. The swings, power, demeanor at the plate, speed, throwing arms, and glove work are all very different and one plays infield and the other is an infielder. Let's retire that comparison. Another point that was brought up is that the Twins already have their three outfielders. Buxton holds a spot and Wallner certainly has a leg up for a spot with Larnach also worth plate appearances. The problem is catching those fly balls. Buxton is no longer an above average centerfielder although he is fine out there. Both of Wallner and Larnach are ok, but clearly below average at this time. The pitchers need some help in converting outs into outs and those three together won't cut it in 2025 as a full time plan. I understand the trade EmRod group because they want some value from a prospect that they do not believe in. I'm firmly in the put Emmanuel in the lineup in the outfield right away. He has proven himself already in the minors and has nothing left to learn. Proving himself again and again is a waste of talent.

Exactly all of this. If the Twins are not going to play a potential difference maker like Emmanuel, maybe they should trade him and let him play in another system. After watching dozens of his plate appearances, my conclusion is that he has nothing left to learn in the minor leagues.

A competent manager would not platoon players who hit well against pitchers throwing from either side. A competent GM would immediately step in if platooning occurred. The Twins are in serious trouble if that were to happen to either of Rodriguez or Jenkins.

First thing I thought of was .... wondering how many Twins minor league prospects OPS over 1.000 and play outstanding defense? I have added comments regarding EmRod for two plus years on TD. My concerns before last season referenced the number of plate appearances where Rodriguez displayed a seeming disinterest, almost always due to the score of the game. This was strictly observational. Last summer Emmanuel displayed his talents on a more consistent basis. Yes, there is patience and swing and miss in his game, If one wants to compare ER to a current Twin, the player would be Matt Wallner. They had similar performances at Wichita, I believe. However, ER and MW are only similar at the plate. I think the comparison to Julien is off the mark. Defensively, the two could not be more different and while Julien can muscle some balls deep for HR and XBH, ER has light tower power, an easy 400 foot bomb. Emmanuel is an outfielder with an excellent glove (read what Eric Longenhagen at Fangraphs says about his defense), a strong accurate arm, and really good wheels on the bases and in the field. The Twins absolutely need some help with defense. While MLB pitchers may force him to make adjustments at the plate, I doubt whether Rodriguez will shrink from the challenge. This is a time when I miss Calvin. Among others, Rod Carew was put into the lineup against the wishes of the manager and others at a time when owners and GM's were usually hands off. EmRod is ready now.

The Twins can make a number of trades. Money is not an issue unless we are talking about big contracts. There could be numerous moves to improve the roster and reduce the payroll simultaneously. The real question is - will the Twins attempt to make any changes or real improvements to the team? Falvey has specifically stated that the Twins may need to get "creative'. Well then, let's get creative Derek.

We are not. However, they don't matter that much really in baseball.

I applaud your confidence in merely putting the same team back out on the field again. I'm not too worried about the pitching either. However, Paddack hasn't been able to throw since 2019, when Nelson Cruz was a force. I don't see either repeating their 2019 seasons in 2025. I like Larnach and Wallner too, but they need to share the DH/RF spots so at least the pitchers have some hope. Love the positivity you profess in the players.

Yes, it gets hot in Florida in the summer but it isn't that bad. The rain is usually all done by around 7 pm and the evenings are quite lovely with a breeze. I lived in the Tampa Bay (Clearwater) area in the 80s and 90s and played a ton of games in the heat. It is far better than playing in cold weather.

Probably a greater benefit for the Twins than the Rays. Seems like moving series might be a bit of a downer for the Rays. I would prefer to play in Tampa on the 4th of July if I were a Ray. This is going to be a tough summer for the Tampa Bay Rays.

Prospect - the possibility that something good might happen in the future: I'm not sure why folks get argumentative about "prospect" lists. You can make your own and you may have as much luck as any other guess. There is an entire industry that revolves around ratings, articles, and prognostications of prospects and a fair amount of analysis too. Some of this is from people who spend significant amounts of time poring over data without ever actually watching the individuals perform. Others do get out and watch numerous players and also use volumes of data. The entire baseball industry has a lower probability for the signed prospects appearing at the MLB level than in football, basketball, or hockey drafts. They are not really good comparisons. People make money telling us in various forms who we should pay attention to or not and then along comes a Payton Eeles or Carson McCusker to muck it up. The whole prospect thing, as far as us readers, is entertainment and should be enjoyed without getting tore up about why Willie Banks is not in the Hall of Fame. Let the writers and owners of the site get frothed over this guy or that guy because they have a stake in the game - ads, memberships, clicks, and comments. Chill on final judgments of something that has not yet happened. Sorry to be such a s%&thead, but this is not worth people insulting each other. Marco Ray should be a decent relief pitcher from what I can tell from watching him on numerous occasions. He could make himself a nice career as a baseball player. I have him as #9 on my list of Twins prospects.