tony&rodney

A healthy and productive Jorge Polanco is the best player the Twins have on their roster. Unhealthy Polanco should just heal on the IL, and the same goes for Buxton. The Twins have some depth. The objections to Julien at second base are unrealistic. He is not Joe Morgan or Roberto Alomar. We can all agree on that. Thus far his fielding has yielded a handful of awkward plays that still recorded outs and one error. His range is fine and even though it looks like he stumbles in all directions, he records the outs. Is Eddie as good as we want at second base? No, but he is a positive force right now and showing signs of getting better. His defense is much better than Koskie showed when he first came to the majors and in time we saw the glove join the bat for Corey at third base. I'm thinking the Twins need to roster those players whose presence raises the odds of wins. Right now, Julien is a no brain decision to keep. Larnach was sent down because he has options but we should hope his absence is not critical because he has shown he could be a player too. There are some tough decisions coming by the end of July and those calls will determine the fate of the team.

Ober and Varland should be locked into the rotation with how they have pitched this year. Positives for the bats is starting to happen, which is really good news.

Julien has a good eye at the plate to get on base, makes the pitchers work hard, can hit for some power, can run a bit, and could hit for average. All eyes and comments stress that he doesn't look good (awkward) defensively and even the routine plays aren't smooth. This is true as an observation. Yet, the plays are generally made and the idea he has hurt the team with his defense just hasn't happened yet. He makes an odd flip to Correa, who throws the ball away and Kirilloff fails to dig out the throw. Folks, including Morneau, put the blame on Julien. Julien forced Correa to throw the ball away when he had time to adjust with a slow runner? Farmer makes a clean relay, Correa makes a strong throw to first and the batter is safe. The play gets highlighted by Morneau but it wasn't effective. Julien will not win a Gold Glove any time soon, but he makes plays and gets to batted balls in respectful numbers. I'm not a fan of defensive metrics. I trust my eyes much more than some data points even though they mostly agree with what I see. Miranda was brutal at first base and Arraez wasn't much better. Arraez was decent at second base but panned the last few years. The optics where Julien looks hesitant and mechanical are not important if he can get the ball and the out. Nevertheless, it is what Julien does at the plate that will determine his career. If he can get on base at a .400 or better clip and hit for some power, I'm thinking that is good for runs and victories. I will immediately comment when I see Julien hurting the team with his glove but it hasn't happened yet, which may or may not be a coincidence.

Polanco has been the Twins best player, but the injuries have begun to take a toll. When healthy he is still a very good hitter and plays a decent second base. The performances when Jorge plays with the injuries are not good. His swing changes and the defensive range is diminished when he plays through the limiting hurts. Thus, Polanco is a bit of an enigma for planning purposes. When healthy, there is no one better to play second base. It is difficult to watch both Polanco and Buxton when they are clearly hurting and playing in a reduced physical capacity. He stays until someone totally forces their way into the lineup. The Twins way be wondering how other teams value Polanco and it seems unknown to me.

Miranda still has a bright future. He got into a rut this year swinging for extra bases and biting on every high fastball. If he returns to just hitting line drives the potential for 40 doubles and 12-15 home runs is there. The walks need to exceed the strike outs for guys who are not true sluggers. The whiffs on pitches well out of the zone and pop ups don't help. Miranda could also be a decent front talent paired with another (or two) in a trade, although I don't have any fresh ideas myself on who to target.

Runs follow Julien. The guy looks a little awkward but gets on base and hits. Is he the leadoff batter the Twins need?

Agree. Fairly consistent. I was wrong to question the pitch earlier to AK. He needs to earn his way.

Is it possible that Kirilloff has enemies among umpires? The close calls are always strikes for him.

I wonder if Byron isn't so dinged up and restricted by pain that he decides to retire long before his contract ends. The contract was fine but the injuries and effect on his play is just sad.

Adell has been mentioned as a trade target by more people than any other player, by far, and for good reason. The power is enticing, the Angels are a little frustrated, and every team thinks they know exactly how to turn him into the next Mike Trout. I doubt the Angels let him go for a song. What would it take? Wallner and Pagan? I have no idea what the Angels see concerning Adell on their roster.

Julien catches so much heat. Apparently on base is no longer very important. I agree with those who suggest he made a poor feed to Correa because he did. Correa made the bad throw though and Kirilloff failed to dig it out. Then Vasquez called off speed when Chapman couldn't touch the fastball and Varland grooved a pitch with zero movement. It takes a village. Julien makes pitchers work and offense (runs) follow him around. Kirilloff and Lewis have been fun to watch. I'm not ready to see Larnach back in St. Paul. If these four produce runs, let them play. Make the others wait their turn.

The ceiling is always the World Series because it can happen. The description of "horribly inconsistent" is pretty accurate. The All Star game will bring a full evaluation of the roster and I would expect several changes by August at the latest. The starting pitching has kept the team in almost every game. Half of the bullpen has been good and the other half is shaky. The defense has been just average, good enough to not be of any huge concern yet a little worrisome at times. An example from the game today was Julien failing on a smooth delivery to Correa, Correa failing to make a good throw when he had time, and Kirilloff failing to dig the ball out at first to bail out the two middle infielders. Of course, Varland made several good pitchers and Chapman looked off balance until Louie grooved a change up that didn't move. Should Vasquez have called for the letter high fastball there? Pretty much going on in a short sequence but the real culprit all season and even in the game today is hitting and moving runners along to score runs. This may seem distant if the offense turns it around after what has mostly been a ten week slump. It may still be too early to know the direction of the team. I'm still thinking that the World Series is the ceiling.

The bulk of the picks for win totals for the year were between 82-88 victories. I thought 83-79 would win the AL Central. The Twins remain quite frustrating but also on course. They are also showing some signs of putting things together. If the team can slowly improve their hitting, the record improves. A rough series of missed chances/plays cost the Twins a sweep of the Blue Jays in front of packed houses in Toronto, so the team is working hard to compete. It sure seems like the lineup has more life with all of Julien, Kirilloff, Larnach, and Lewis playing. Let them play. I'm not ready to see the return of these guys to AAA or to the bench. The next run of games should help. I'm concerned about a revival of the zero offense redux with a couple of players returning and getting put back in pen on the lineup card. I guess we shall see.

Sure. Three years for three million; worth the gamble.

Have followed him this year and wondered whether he might get moved to Cedar Rapids in July. Good start. Nice article.

They both need some work at AAA.

Funny comment and actually might represent many frustrated fans who get worked up over the strike outs and close losses. We all want better You are right on though, that's not the way it works.

Kepler has struggled, no doubt. Still, you can have Gallo and I'll take Kepler if it is a choice between the two. Hoping for better, like today (minus the 17 K's), until the new crop grows in successfully.

The time for trades was last winter. Maybe a Miranda, Larnach, and Winder plus someone else for Murphy may have worked. Who knows ... that is a dead issue. Ruiz was the prize for Murphy and Oakland might take Ryan, Ober, and Duran for him which is another way of saying Ruiz is not going anywhere. Krilloff, Lewis, Ober, Varland, Castro, and Stewart are good additions thus far. Keep Larnach, AK, and Julien in the lineup and see what happens.

Yes.

Molitor is right. I have been told the same thing by others concerning professional baseball players and their preparation and approach to hitting. It is a mistake and will change back. Teams are already making changes. BTW, the Twins hit big home runs today (good), but 17 K's (bad). Hoping to see more consistent hard contact with extra base hits while mixing in the appropriate stolen base and bunt.

Julien can play. I doubt he will ever be a superstar. He gets panned by many for his defense but it is pretty much average, not nearly as problematic as Miranda was at first base last year. Julien is nowhere near the bat that Arraez is, but he gets on base, makes the pitcher work, can steal a base, hits for extra bases, and rarely misses a day due to injury. Julien will help the offense and is also fits at DH. Long term the Twins are better with Julien batting against right handed pitchers.

The Twins have some fair options for pitching. There may have been a few blown games but I don't think the pitching has let the team down. Bats? The bats need to come alive.

Pitching can keep a sinking ship afloat long enough to allow the offense to mend their ways. It can happen. The one truism in baseball is that it is a long season and adjustments can occur as well as regression to a norm.

Correct. I liked Berrios and would have offered him a good contract. Jose throws innings and is a strong #3 pitcher mostly. So, I did not think it was a good thing to trade a good starting pitcher. If Toronto was so keen, I wanted Gabriel Moreno plus a flyer on a young prospect. The hype on Simeon Woods Richardson when he was a Mets prospect seemed overblown for the stuff presented. SWR could still be a fair pitcher but he will need at least another year after this year to refine his command and control. Austin Martin should be a good player for a major league team. I don't know if that is the Twins. He lost time trying to hit for power. You can see (via milb.com the last few years) that he is a pretty fun player to watch when he plays his game. He has some speed, makes contact, and has a decent glove. He just doesn't stand out. Like many younger players, he will need to get an opportunity. The Berrios trade is too early to judge still and Arraez and Lopez are both better players in my estimation, which makes it even more difficult to come to an early conclusion. Pitching almost always wins in the end, but not always (Lou Brock trade).