tony&rodney

Jenkins was one of the top five, all judged to be the best prospects since Gerrit Cole and Harper. No draft pick in baseball is a guarantee, but this is the Twins best shot at a superstar since Buxton was drafted in 2012. Walker Jenkins is the most significant pick this front office has made. I'm satisfied that the Twins went with the scouting reports and did not get cute. We will need to wait for the results.

There any number of directions to go with Keuchel and the comments have pretty much already covered them all. Can he hit? That was a telling statement since it is the offense which has been offensive this season. Keuchel might return something worthwhile in a trade. Teams are looking for pitching all the time. Does he work as a the needed long relief pitcher? I'm not sure he fits in that role, but he might. The comments cover the options. The games coming out of the break will bring an answer. The Twins have 16 games before the trade deadline (Oakland, Seattle, White Sox, Royals). Ten games are on the road. I'm guessing that a .500 record means that Sonny Gray and/or Kenta Maeda are traded and possibly others as well, which opens a spot for Keuchel. If the Twins go 12-4, then Keuchel only gets an opportunity for the long relief job unless there is an injury or trade. The six person starting staff just weakens the team. The starting pitchers have been outstanding but the pitches per outing are under control and only Gray has faced multiple games of stressed innings (too many guys on base), and he has come through mostly in great shape. I'm still very optimistic about the pitching, including Louie Varland and Balazovic. The offense remains the problem. The stretch from now until July 31 will determine what role Keuchel plays for the Minnesota Twins.

On the surface this is a damning statement which seemingly ignores the long hours of work put in by the players to be major league baseball athletes. My usual reaction is to think that fans are way too quick to criticize their team or individual players, especially in baseball where a long season brings series of low points for any team and player. However, .... This Twins team has had some lengthy lulls that fairly point to a "lack of professional at bats". Look for the number of hacktastic swings that ignore all situational aspects in hopes of hitting a home run. Look for how often a player swings at the first pitch after a pitcher has thrown something like 6-9 consecutive balls or there is a runner on base who might look to steal. Look for a player getting lost because an umpire made a poor call on the first pitch. Look for a ball middle away fully in the strike zone that a batter attempts to pull. Look at the number of swings at pitches more than 8 inches out of the strike zone. The Twins have had stretches of games where good at bats still resulted in outs and games that ended with a loss, yet there have been way too many stretches where individuals have gone to the batter's box aimlessly, which is actually somewhat unfair to say or type. The simple fact is that the Twins need to have a much more disciplined approach at the plate, one that is aware of the aspects of the game (pitcher, count, weather, defense, inning, score, runners, etc.). The Twins could also vary their strategies. If a batter leads off with a double in the first half of a low scoring (less than 4 runs) game, move that runner over. Fans should not expect a team to suddenly never strike out, but the pace of strike outs is indicative of an approach. Earlier in the season (May), the Giants were right with the Twins in strike outs and they have made very modest improvements which have resulted in an improved record. We saw the Braves cut down on their swing with two strikes all up and down the lineup and often on the first pitch when given a pitch to drive the other way with runners on base. I'm not privy to what effect the hitting coaches have on at bats, so can not call for a change in dugout management. Falvey, however, should be able to recognize at this point that there needs to be at least a couple of player personal moves. It is his job. More of the same will not bring a positive result. Beginning in Oakland and sustained throughout the remainder of the schedule, the Twins needs to be continually focus on game situations and the offense will need to have consistent professional at bats.

This.

Disappointed in Kepler and Jeffers who both tried to pull outside pitches. Max had two gimmes to poke down the left field line. The offense will never improve if the Twins hitters insist on pulling the ball and going deep.

A utility infielder at #5 saves money, but we have heard for some time that the top five are the best prospects since Harper and Cole. Only time will tell.

I'm still for Clark or surely one of the top five, but Arjun Nimmala is more interesting than Teel, Dollander, or Gonzalez.

I did. Thanks.

Excellent way for Pablo Lopez to go into the AS break. He totally dominated the Royals, who beat the Dodgers on both Saturday (6-4) and Sunday (9-1). Pablo with 119 innings pitched, 95 hits allowed, and 150 strike outs among other very good stats. I would say that Lopez has been outstanding. Let's hope he can repeat his pitching in the second half.

If Clark is the last of the top five available, The Twins should run to the podium to announce their selection - The Minnesota Twins choose Max Clark.

This is exactly correct. I see no similarity between the swings of Gallo and Rodriguez. They are different players who share high strike out rates. Gallo has had some success at the MLB level, but E-Rod has a long way to go. I like his chances though right now. All minor league players must learn how to play professional baseball. The separation between amateur and pro ball is huge, and the adjustment to playing every day is very challenging.

Agree with the previous post that Emmanuel has much to offer but needs time to develop as a player. I have watched quite a few of his at bats (milb.com) this year and he has shown an ability to adapt. One possible weakness may be his desire to go yard with runners on base, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. He takes some long swings at times. I'm hoping he can learn when to just drive the ball with contact versus his occasional attempts to hit it over 400 feet. The future is still really bright for him and he will benefit from the ABS umpires too because he seems to have an excellent eye at the plate.

Why would anyone ever compare anything Joey Gallo does to Harmon Killebrew? Harmon retired as the all time American League leader in home runs for a right handed batter. Yes, he struck out quite a bit but his rate was significantly lower and he hit in the middle of the order for a reason. HK had 77 SF in his career. Gallo? Three (3). Gallo has worked hard for the Twins this year, but he is what he is, a one dimensional player. Please think before making comparisons between players.

Pitching is really fun when one can just enjoy the competition and make good decisions about your pitch choices. When doubt and indecision take away the enjoyment, the commitment to any pitch declines. The edge is a fine line. A pitcher needs total command and control to find success. Dallas knows what good outings feel like and could contribute to the Twins. For now it has to be fun for him to be pitching for the Saints, especially with the way that the St. Paul team is banging the baseballs around the yard in support of their pitchers.

I see Gallo as a player who is straining and working very hard to contribute as a Twins. He works the counts, dives for fly balls, and hustles on the bases. The effort by Gallo thus far has been laudable. I also don't believe the Twins are best served with Gallo in the lineup on a regular basis. His defense and base running may be due to an injury, and his bat has a big hole in it. Still Joey has worked hard and I appreciate his efforts.

Of course. We always believe there is a chance. Right?

I look at most statistics as just numbers available to support any argument or discussion. The data is always worth a look and somewhat interesting, but don't be that guy who misses a play because you are checking on the latest analytics. The game is still played on a field and one team wins, another loses.

Lowder is a strong prospect with a bright future. The Twins should be ecstatic if they get any of Drews, Skenes, Langford, or Clark. Passing on these guys would be an unwise choice. I'm hoping for Max Clark.

In the moment all of the roster moves, except Gallo, made sense in an effort to improve the team through depth. Hindsight would open a whole set of other moves that could of/ would of/ should of .... The additions still look reasonable, although it remains surprising that the Twins splashed for Correa. Plenty of baseball is yet to be played this season and further moves of players may happen in the next month. It is difficult to remember a time when the Twins has such good pitching but the bats will hopefully bloom in these last three months.

Apparently viewership is reasonably good. Corporations and goodwill are not much of a thing.

Stats are all relative. Anyone can find some data to support whatever argument. If you played baseball for a long time and watched a pile of games across decades, you have seen the various trends move and if you are still following in a the next decade you will see additional numbers become the rage. Folks can argue the current set of data and players are better all day and then hear the same from more voices down the road. Despite Manfred making his best attempts to uck the game, baseball remains a relatively timeless game of adjustments between pitcher and batter and the data is just peripheral.

Much more accurate than the stat currently in use. I used similar data points decades ago to measure the quality of an at bat. The goal is to square the ball up, hit into fair territory. The severe upper cut is quite dependent on the pitcher throwing the ball to the path of the swing as opposed to the batter meeting the ball where it is pitched. The best hitters remove the element of luck as much as possible. BTW, Byron took several flatter cuts yesterday, putting the ball in play. I have no idea if that was purposeful or accidental or coincidental.

Hey, maybe Gallo and Kepler will lead the Twins to the promised land.

This is actually true. Life is like that: connections, where one event can influence or precipitate another event. Opportunity is always right in front of us and the correct or lucky choice creates fortune while the decision which seems so smart craters all too quickly. Accidents happen. The second guessing and interminable rehashing of why (coulda, woulda shoulda) only creates a sour taste. The Twins can still turn the corner.

Agree 100% with this statement. Falvey & Sons are on the clock.