tony&rodney

Brooks Lee has been solid all year but approach at the plate has become more aggressive. Something has clicked and Lee looks even more confident than previously. The first half of last year, Matt McClain (Cincy shortstop) looked pretty solid yet nothing special at the same time. Something clicked in his game as he finished with a strong second half which carried over into his rookie year this year with the Reds. Brooks Lee should be better and is a switch hitter which should help with adjustments to MLB pitching. Where will Lee play on the dirt next season?

This is an excellent synopsis of the Twins current situation. Today there were five players starting who are very decent reserve players (Castro, Farmer, Taylor, Solano, and Kepler). all starting in the same game. I guess it is fair against a left handed pitcher but the Twins need regular at bats from full fledged starters. FWIW, the team should carry 14 position players. Buxton is lost. Forget the numbers, he looks defeated walking into the batter's box. I have no idea what is going on but feel for the guy and playing him in the three hole is totally absurd. That leaves Correa, Kirilloff, and the rotation at catcher as normal starters. Again, versus a left handed pitcher perhaps this is ok, but there needs to be a spot for Julien right now, and if Wallner is up he should be playing. Seattle should be quite an interesting test. Hopefully, we see good at bats and excellent pitching in the series versus the Mariners.

No disagreement with a trade for Ohtani, but remember that after pitching Ohtani cannot play in the field (recovery), which is why he is always the DH for the Angels. I would think that Ohtani is worth $50 million per year at least. It is going to be worth following, for sure.

There are so many statistics and variable ways to judge baseball players. The win stat for pitchers has been totally trashed it seems, but not the L. Recently, Twins Daily had a post concerning batting average and whether it was among the most meaningless of stats. WAR gets used quite often to discuss financial value of any given player. I'm not opposed to any statistic and in fact used my own as a coach in an attempt to evaluate at bats, plays in the field, base running, and pitching in an objective manner. Experienced eyes do the job too. OPS is about as valuable as wins for a pitcher or batting average. Arraez made the All Star game, Gallo is fighting to keep his job. There is no comparison between the value of these two players. You could not find a manager, coach, or player in baseball who would pick Gallo ahead of Arraez. That said, the comment that a handful of Arraez types might be complemented nicely with a Joey Gallo in the lineup sounds good.

No matter what an adventure or how awkward, Julien has made most of the plays. He has two errors and could have been given a couple more, yet his minimal range is better than the alternatives which is kind of sad in a way. I feel like he gives the Twins a better chance to win when he gets to play. The Twins look shaky. Hopefully they come out with a little more consistency tomorrow. Apparently the Oakland scouting report forgot that Gallo likes the ball in a pretty narrow spot. Joey took the first pitch and had to be surprised to see another in a similar spot, his spot. Congratulations to Brent Rooker for making the All Star team and for his double in the game. I do not miss his adventures in the outfield at all.

Yeah, I agree. The type of baseball under the current regime (particularly the last three years) has not been my kind of ball. I guess diehard Twins fans just keep the fire going, hoping, and trying to believe.

Catch 22

Maybe "limits" should be edited in favor of "limitations". In any event, this was a discussion of whether Lee or Jenkins should be rated as the top Twins prospect, thus there was zero intention to diss the talents of Brooks Lee. I only wished to point out that Jenkins has had scouts and prospect writers indicate a far higher ceiling than Lee. If you have watched (via milb.com for me) Lee play several dozen times, he looks really solid, but unspectacular (not a burner or quick twitch athlete like Lewis). I think Lee starts in the infield full time by 2025 and maybe earlier. I'm a big believer in Brooks Lee. I hope Walker Jenkins becomes a perennial starter in the All Star Game.

Lee was the most accomplished bat coming out of college last year. He was written up (near consensus) as having a high floor, making MLB for sure at some point and likely to be a solid regular starter but not an all star. We have seen the strengths and limits of Lee in AA this season. He is having a very good year but not really drawing any attention or standing out. I expect Lee to put on a Twins uniform by the close of 2024. The excitement about Emmanuel Rodriguez pushing into the top ten prospect has dimmed considerably as he learns baseball. I'm still on E-Rod but he needs to make some adjustments. Jenkins (again consensus) was tabbed as a one of the clear top five in the recently completed draft. The LSU boys and Langford were coming off of putting on a show at the CWS in Omaha, thus they pretty much claimed their spots above Jenkins. Nobody would have been too surprised if Jenkins had gone #1, and he would have last year. Jenkins has a long haul before he can prove himself worthy of an MLB jersey, but his ceiling is a superstar. I'm thinking he will get put somewhere in the top 100 prospect lists before he takes his first professional at bat. I'm putting him at #1 among Twins prospects right away and getting my hopes up. I guess we shall see how accurate the scouts are about this 2023 group. The year of raving is over now. Will the hype be real?

We won't know for a couple of years how this pick goes. A couple of points that might make sense. Hitting .365 versus his competition in SoCal is like a .500 or better average in the Midwest. Weather affects bat speed, pitchers, basically everything. It is easy to think of Dave Winfield, but you will remember that Winfield was a full grown man who went right from the College World Series to being the starting right fielder for the San Diego Padres and never looked back on his way to a Hall of Fame career. Still, a guy with size, speed, and skills sounds exciting and I thought of that too.

The games are played to compete towards a World Series victory. Only one team wins it all. If a team gets in the playoffs, anything can happen. That includes setting records for consecutive losses. A Twins fan should welcome another playoff game despite past frustrations. If you watch/listen to the Twins games as a Twins fan you are hoping they do well, I hope. Bring on the playoffs.

Aside from Koufax, who suffered enormous pain and received numerous regular cortisone injections which would never be the practice today, I can't think of any pitcher retiring in their prime. The money is generational and Sonny Gray will be a free agent for the first time in his career. Gray will draw a ton of interest this offseason and there may be quite a bit of interest from teams right now just as a rental.

The post asks which outfielder (singular) goes, so in deference to defense and base running it is Gallo who goes.

Gray was likely reflecting on the grind of being a baseball player, always on the road with his family growing up without him. Salesmen and construction workers, among many other professions, also can be gone from home for periods of time. When you are newly married or have young children it can be difficult. I made a career change around 30 for that reason and never regretted missing out on the hit financially. Sonny Gray has a young family. Professional athletes at the highest level are incredibly driven. I read that article as just a comment on the struggles of being a baseball player. I would put money on Gray playing next year. He is quite likely to get a three year deal in the offseason (pure guess - 3/$60M). Only an injury will change the outcome. Gray has been a good pitcher.

Slim to no chance that the Twins have even inquired about either Goldy or Arenado. The Cardinals are not going to trade for any bats, which means any possible discussion starts with Ober or Ryan and others (Raya, Balazovic, etc.).

There may be some uncertainty or discomfort between the Pohlads and Falvine/Baldelli. I have no idea about this and we do know that the Pohlads are generally quite supportive and hands off with the management they put in place. I'm not expecting any changes, yet the lack of excitement toward the Twins is reflected in attendance to some degree. A large shift, such as selling off expiring contracts and veterans, seems quite unlikely given the large investment made for this season. The opposite is also unlikely. I do not expect a big trade to acquire a significant player. The Twins should be in contact with clubs and exchanging ideas frequently this month. We just don't know what Gray or Maeda could return. Some team may get crazy and offer some excellent prospects, in which case the Twins should act. For several years I have wanted the Twins to incorporate all strategies possible in their game. The big inning and swing out of your shoes approach simply doesn't work without a juiced ball and also leaves fans nodding off to sleep. There has been some small changes this season. The series with Atlanta should have been a lesson for the Twins, watching another team cut down on their swing with two strikes, go the other way, run the bases, etc. Bunting doesn't need to be used often but it can work and even be effective in the first inning. A double play ground ball that scores a run is always preferable to not scoring while swinging for the fences. Subtle changes need to occur. Lastly, it may be unfortunate but a couple of demotions are in order. That may be a hitting coach, which seems pretty crappy or trades/DFA of a veteran player. On the whole, Gallo has not been worth a roster spot. Kepler needs to play some centerfield or get moved. Falvey needs to make one move at least. A repeat of the first half won't please many people.

While I tend to agree with the sentiment that trading Sonny Gray accomplishes very little, we just don't know what value another team places on acquiring a pitcher. Conversations with other teams should always be fluid and ongoing.

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.