tony&rodney

How bummed would people be if Brooks Lee won ROY for a different team .... and the Twins won the World Series?

There were plenty of opportunies this past season to watch Emmanuel Rodriguez via milb.com. A few of the comments have noted the strengths and weaknesses. Erod has an exceptional eye he knows the strike zone. ABS is going to be his friend and he will do well with a challenge system as well. The ability to rip mistakes and hit pitches in the strike zone are why Erod is looking so valuable. He absolutely loves a big moment and it sure seemed like pitchers either paid in a big way when they challenged him in close games or they just pitched around him. Erod is willing to take a walk. Another poster noted that Emmanuel takes a number of bad at bats. This is true and is not because of a lack of discipline. When a game is out of reach or the situation seemed unimportant (to Erod), there were plenty of wild swings. This is more a factor of inexperience and a youthful response to the surrounding game. He will need to learn that at bats should not be squandered as he progresses and I think he will. Because Rodriguez has only finished A+ ball, I don't think his value around baseball is where we can expect it to be at this time next year (top ten). The swing, bounce, and talent is real in my opinion. I have not had a chance to watch Jenkins bat, having only seen a few videos. Emmanuel was available via milb and I must have seen 50-100 of his at bats. My rankings defer to Jenkins as #1, but I put Erod right behind him at #2 among Twins prospects. I''m curious to read how those who traveled to watch Erod play (amongst national writers) see him. No doubt, Erod has some improvements to make but his skills are really top shelf. BTW, Erod is an excellent defensive outfielder with a very strong arm and he has good speed too.

Hard to know how minor league free agency works, but the Twins may need to be proactive about signing Jair Camargo. Last season the Twins only used two catchers and that is the hope for 2024 too. How often do teams make it through the entire year with two catchers? You referenced that it may be necessary to pull a trade sooner than later and this is likely if the Twins have their thoughts toward a few specific players. Sometimes it is a good idea to outbid the market early to fill a need. The Twins do seem like they will be slow to act on any trades that may be possible if the player coming in costs a small pile. Free agent additions are also likely to happen later, especially as we see players maneuver through their combinations of years or higher annual salary wishes.

Garcia is out, which weakens Texas. Jankowski is a decent player though. Weird to have both teams using bullpens today, but i guess their starting depth is weak.

That's the plan according to Falvey and Baldelli.

Ok, thank you. I have been asking and wondering how people feel about a Julien-Lee comparison. This is the first clear stance someone has taken. I tend to see Lee more similarly to how Keith Law views him, as a strong regular with a lengthy successful career as a starting infielder. I only have watched Lee via milb.com in several dozen games so do not have the same feel as if viewing in person. I'm high on Julien and feel he will improve dramatically on swing decisions where he knows the umpire's zones. Julien is still inexperienced. I appreciate the response and wonder what direction the Twins will take. I do see a possibility for the Twins to use of of these guys in trade for a very good starting pitcher. As always, I'm guessing because the Falvey clan does a good job of holding their cards close.

We will find out soon enough but the money for the top FAs seems low. I read The Athletic and only skimmed the article. Bowden is mostly a waste of time. I believe a trade is more likely. For those who do not get The Athletic, the list does provide some context of value, so good post.

Do you see Brooks Lee pushing Julien away from second base (or via Lewis sliding to 2B)? I don't think Julien will be just a platoon player or a DH. Do the Twins trade Julien? Ultimately, which player is preferred - Julien or Lee?

True, we are all getting older (Polanco too). I'm not 100% sure that the injuries are chronic. I also have two thoughts. One is that the Twins will keep Jorge and he starts most games because the team is trying to win. The second thought is that the Twins are able to bundle Polanco in a trade for a starting pitcher that improves their team. What I am sure of is that I do not know where Falvey and the brain trust stands.

No doubt Lewis still needs to improve at third base. He has the arm and should have the reactions too. It is worth remembering that he was primarily a third baseman in high school and only an occasional shortstop. A huge part of his maturation will be how he progresses on difficult breaking pitches. Royce needs a solid BB-K ratio.

Agree. I should have added that I don't really expect less than $150 million for reasons similar to chpettit19 as he stated above. I only wanted to state that the Twins should be good at a reduction too if that should somehow be necessary. Decisions about retention, who plays where, or trades are more the focus on improving the roster next year than building backwards with a budget.

I'm not a critic of the front office. I have been watching quite a few minor league games since retirement. I like the Twins prospects. The Twins had 10 different pitchers start games for their team this year. Bailey Ober made 26 starts and Louie Varland made 10 starts. These are the only two starting pitchers drafted and developed by the Twins who have made it to The Show. Sometimes it seems like people work overtime to discuss a pitching pipeline and make proclamations of praise for such a system. It would be great if there was a parade of players (pitchers) that march to Target Field. I'm happy with any means of acquiring good players (via FA, trades, or draft) and enjoy watching and following the prospects. I'm not sure where a pitching pipeline come in though. Just seems odd to me.

How do you come to that conclusion? I like pretty much everything about Brooks Lee, but a side by side comparison of Lee and Julien at Wichita and St. Paul is pretty close, all things considered. Perhaps Julien gains the slight nod based on AVG, OBP, SLG, and OPS. Also, Polanco is still better than either Julien or Lee (who has not played MLB), although Jorge is admittedly on a bit of a decline. I'm thinking Brooks Lee will be a strong regular in the major leagues, but he isn't there yet and the players above him are better at this time. Perhaps the Twins trade Polanco and'or Julien to clear a path for Ll. We shall see.

The Twins can afford to roster a payroll of $125 million next year. That should be sufficient to retain players needed to win the AL Central again next season. Additional money is always nice and a $155 million roster brings even more possibilities, but money shouldn't stop the Twins from having a very competitive team.

I wonder if Jair Camargo has a bit more of a market than most regular minor league free agents. There are teams hurting at catcher that would love to see what Camargo can do for them. While I have no idea, it seems like he could demand at least the minimum MLB salary ($740K) to sign a minor league deal with the Twins or any other team. So, yah, sign him.

Saw that earlier today. I guess it wasn't totally unexpected. Congratulations to Dick Bremer on a 40 year run in the booth. When he started, not every game was televised and radio was still more or less the voice of a team. Suffice to say that Bremer is identified closely with Twins baseball. He had a wonderful career.

Don't throw a pitch in the strike zone on the first pitch to Corey Seager.

Two great plays and it stays zero. How long can Pfaadt wear those glass slippers? He looks sharp again.

You bet.

Really like your list - short and to the point. I'm not too worried about Prielipp now because he will need time to recover and get back to just playing a little baseball. We should check back on Prielipp next August. In the upper minors (guys who played AA or AAA this year) I'm interested to see how David Festa does after a winter to adjust to what he experienced this past year. The ceiling for him looks good. Festa is still inexperienced but could be coming fast. I'm also ready to see what Austin Martin can do at the next level. There are a pile of other guys I'm planning to watch and follow next season. Among those I believe could take big steps are: Byron Chourio, Ben Ross, Tanner Hall, Luke Keaschall, C. J. Culpepper, and Cory Lewis. Of course we should be excited to see how Charlee Soto and Brandon Winokur manage in their first full year of pro ball. Finally, next year there will be eyes on two players who Twins fans hope can take a big leap forward: Marco Raya and Emmanuel Rodriguez. I'm hoping both reach and succeed in AAA next season after proving their dominance of AA.

I wonder if people on TD have strong opinions on who among either Julien or Lee is a better choice long term at second base. Is there room for both? Alex Kirilloff is at first base and Byron Buxton is a CF/DH. The Twins are unlikely to use Julien long term as a DH. Maybe a poll would be appropriate, maybe not. I'm not sure how folks come to putting those out.

The idea of adding a LH starting pitcher is a sound idea. I'm not sure who is available. Sale is a little too rich though. Freeland may benefit from escaping Coors Field but he has had more issues on the road. Finally, why would one think that Robbie Ray would opt out of his 2025-2026 payout of $50 million? He is unlikely to exceed that number as a free agent after 2024 when he will only have a partial year to establish himself. Ray has been a very good pitcher but his future is less certain than guys like Jordan Montgomery. I like the idea of a left-handed starter for a team to have a different look during a series, but right now the pickings are slim.

Prospects and discussion of them have been a lifeline of hope and anticipation for baseball franchises since the first "fair" amateur player draft in 1965. The Sporting News gave reports and printed statistics giving fans a glimpse of the minor leagues. Baseball America came along in 1981 to greatly enhance the coverage of prospects. The internet allowed our ability to follow prospects to explode with depth, video, and game action. The Twins have a strong minor league system as do the other MLB teams. It is interesting for me to follow the development of "our" future Twins as they enter and go through the rigors of minor league baseball. I love the interviews and features that Seth and others provide for Twins Daily readers. I follow the Twins prospects and a few other random guys more than any rational person should. What is irksome is how some people feel the need to denigrate past front office work with prospects. It just isn'y necessary. If you have followed baseball prospects since the days of Rick Monday, you know that prospects are fun and because baseball is incredibly competitive most signees never make it to the show. It's all relative as that crazy-haired man would say.

I cracked up when I read the comment because I thought that TD would tip over if Lewis was traded. I don't see it. Later in the Q & A, Polishuk backpedaled on making a guess what the Twins would do, hinting that he didn't want his box full from irate Twins fans. LOL.

Learning about the minor leagues largely depends (to some extent) on where one is in their life because it is time consuming. For example, before retirement I worked, coached, and also played mens baseball. There was never more than 6 hours for sleep and reading about baseball would be limited to an hour per day. Although I was a charter subscriber to Baseball America and read The Sporting News before that, one needed to parse out the time. Now, since the advent of the internet and especially since milb.com has been available, one can get even deeper on prospects. Getting to minor league games is always fun too. So, if you work full time (which meant never accessing anything personal such as baseball, news, or email during the work hours for me), it is hard to follow so many players and leagues. Retirement allows one to saturate in your projects. Also, it is easier if one only follows one sport. I do realize that many people actually spend a fair amount of time looking at the internet while at work but I'm not sure that is available to all or a choice for others. FWIW, I saw the listing on David Festa when he was drafted and was intrigued by his height and weight. The last two years i have tried to catch as many innings as possible when he pitches. The lists are fine but watching the players goes much farther. Or as the saying goes, it's all good.