tony&rodney

This is a question that often comes to my mind when reading various comments online. Reading all of the statistics can be interesting but there is no substitute for seeing. I can explain a Redwood tree endlessly but until you have seen one the reality hasn't set in. That doesn't mean that one cannot be a fan or have strong opinions on the Twins or players but discussions on a common topic, like the core of the Twins for 2024, depends to some extent on understanding the players from having seen them play. I will give just one example - Julien. Young Edouard is a lightning rod of sorts for fan analysts. He was really nervous and seemingly afraid of every ball that came his way early in the year. Every throw looked terrible. As Julien settled in, his play in the field improved dramatically. By the end of the year he was just another average second baseman. Those who watched him play could see the increase in range, the shifting of his weight, and see how he began to (mol) smoothly transfer the ball from glove to hand and complete the plays. A refusal to acknowledge the improvement could only be due to Not having watched the games. Is Julien a part of the next core? I don't know about that, but I know that there is Correa and Buxton leading the team. That is the core, plain and simple. Others are free to take up the banner. We shall see who it is and you can judge for yourself by watching the games.

Paddack could be totally solid for 100 innings and he may take the ball as a starting pitcher for around 17 games. Expecting anything more doesn't seem realistic. I'm feeling positive about Chris Paddack.

Paddack could be totally solid for 100 innings and he may take the ball as a starting pitcher for around 17 games. Expecting anything more doesn't seem realistic. I'm feeling positive about Chris Paddack.

This is a question that often comes to my mind when reading various comments online. Reading all of the statistics can be interesting but there is no substitute for seeing. I can explain a Redwood tree endlessly but until you have seen one the reality hasn't set in. That doesn't mean that one cannot be a fan or have strong opinions on the Twins or players but discussions on a common topic, like the core of the Twins for 2024, depends to some extent on understanding the players from having seen them play. I will give just one example - Julien. Young Edouard is a lightning rod of sorts for fan analysts. He was really nervous and seemingly afraid of every ball that came his way early in the year. Every throw looked terrible. As Julien settled in, his play in the field improved dramatically. By the end of the year he was just another average second baseman. Those who watched him play could see the increase in range, the shifting of his weight, and see how he began to (mol) smoothly transfer the ball from glove to hand and complete the plays. A refusal to acknowledge the improvement could only be due to Not having watched the games. Is Julien a part of the next core? I don't know about that, but I know that there is Correa and Buxton leading the team. That is the core, plain and simple. Others are free to take up the banner. We shall see who it is and you can judge for yourself by watching the games.

Royce Lewis has had his status elevated very quickly among Twins fans. The home runs in the playoffs and his energy when he came aboard were great. It just seems a little early to declare Lewis a star. I mean, I hope he is as much as anyone else. He only has about 250 at bats though. Next season will be huge for Royce as he attempts to become the superstar often associated with #1-1 draft picks. 
The core is in flux and unsteady as others have mentioned. The Twins have holes and there will be plenty of challenges for the Twins to repeat as AL Central Division winners. The two biggest questions go right towards our stars: Buxton and Correa. From there the Twins have questions about their young guys and a hole in the rotation. Other than that, everything is great.

This is a question that often comes to my mind when reading various comments online. Reading all of the statistics can be interesting but there is no substitute for seeing. I can explain a Redwood tree endlessly but until you have seen one the reality hasn't set in. That doesn't mean that one cannot be a fan or have strong opinions on the Twins or players but discussions on a common topic, like the core of the Twins for 2024, depends to some extent on understanding the players from having seen them play. I will give just one example - Julien. Young Edouard is a lightning rod of sorts for fan analysts. He was really nervous and seemingly afraid of every ball that came his way early in the year. Every throw looked terrible. As Julien settled in, his play in the field improved dramatically. By the end of the year he was just another average second baseman. Those who watched him play could see the increase in range, the shifting of his weight, and see how he began to (mol) smoothly transfer the ball from glove to hand and complete the plays. A refusal to acknowledge the improvement could only be due to Not having watched the games. Is Julien a part of the next core? I don't know about that, but I know that there is Correa and Buxton leading the team. That is the core, plain and simple. Others are free to take up the banner. We shall see who it is and you can judge for yourself by watching the games.

This is a question that often comes to my mind when reading various comments online. Reading all of the statistics can be interesting but there is no substitute for seeing. I can explain a Redwood tree endlessly but until you have seen one the reality hasn't set in. That doesn't mean that one cannot be a fan or have strong opinions on the Twins or players but discussions on a common topic, like the core of the Twins for 2024, depends to some extent on understanding the players from having seen them play. I will give just one example - Julien. Young Edouard is a lightning rod of sorts for fan analysts. He was really nervous and seemingly afraid of every ball that came his way early in the year. Every throw looked terrible. As Julien settled in, his play in the field improved dramatically. By the end of the year he was just another average second baseman. Those who watched him play could see the increase in range, the shifting of his weight, and see how he began to (mol) smoothly transfer the ball from glove to hand and complete the plays. A refusal to acknowledge the improvement could only be due to Not having watched the games. Is Julien a part of the next core? I don't know about that, but I know that there is Correa and Buxton leading the team. That is the core, plain and simple. Others are free to take up the banner. We shall see who it is and you can judge for yourself by watching the games.

The expectations for Chris Paddack need to be realistic. He is coming back from his second TJ surgery. Paddack has worked hard and the Twins brought him back carefully, which resulted in a brief trial bullpen role at the end of the season. The Twins will be looking at Paddack as their #5 starting pitcher and be judicious in skipping his turn in the rotation from time to time. A season of 100+ innings will be a success. Paddack is not comparable to Maeda on many fronts, from the type of pitches thrown to their experience. Anyone expecting Paddack to eclipse Maeda's pitching is searching for disappointment. I expect that Paddack will have a good year for the Twins. I'm not thinking he has the WHIP and BAA numbers of a usual Kenta Maeda.

Nice.
Thing is, I think we read a few of these in the comments about Mauer on Twins Daily.
I vote for "If I knew how to contact my children..." for best in class.

Sadly, he may have already been voted off the island by his peers in addition the PR departments.

Royce Lewis has had his status elevated very quickly among Twins fans. The home runs in the playoffs and his energy when he came aboard were great. It just seems a little early to declare Lewis a star. I mean, I hope he is as much as anyone else. He only has about 250 at bats though. Next season will be huge for Royce as he attempts to become the superstar often associated with #1-1 draft picks. 
The core is in flux and unsteady as others have mentioned. The Twins have holes and there will be plenty of challenges for the Twins to repeat as AL Central Division winners. The two biggest questions go right towards our stars: Buxton and Correa. From there the Twins have questions about their young guys and a hole in the rotation. Other than that, everything is great.

Royce Lewis has had his status elevated very quickly among Twins fans. The home runs in the playoffs and his energy when he came aboard were great. It just seems a little early to declare Lewis a star. I mean, I hope he is as much as anyone else. He only has about 250 at bats though. Next season will be huge for Royce as he attempts to become the superstar often associated with #1-1 draft picks. 
The core is in flux and unsteady as others have mentioned. The Twins have holes and there will be plenty of challenges for the Twins to repeat as AL Central Division winners. The two biggest questions go right towards our stars: Buxton and Correa. From there the Twins have questions about their young guys and a hole in the rotation. Other than that, everything is great.

Paddack could be totally solid for 100 innings and he may take the ball as a starting pitcher for around 17 games. Expecting anything more doesn't seem realistic. I'm feeling positive about Chris Paddack.

Twins say no.

The expectations for Chris Paddack need to be realistic. He is coming back from his second TJ surgery. Paddack has worked hard and the Twins brought him back carefully, which resulted in a brief trial bullpen role at the end of the season. The Twins will be looking at Paddack as their #5 starting pitcher and be judicious in skipping his turn in the rotation from time to time. A season of 100+ innings will be a success. Paddack is not comparable to Maeda on many fronts, from the type of pitches thrown to their experience. Anyone expecting Paddack to eclipse Maeda's pitching is searching for disappointment. I expect that Paddack will have a good year for the Twins. I'm not thinking he has the WHIP and BAA numbers of a usual Kenta Maeda.

The expectations for Chris Paddack need to be realistic. He is coming back from his second TJ surgery. Paddack has worked hard and the Twins brought him back carefully, which resulted in a brief trial bullpen role at the end of the season. The Twins will be looking at Paddack as their #5 starting pitcher and be judicious in skipping his turn in the rotation from time to time. A season of 100+ innings will be a success. Paddack is not comparable to Maeda on many fronts, from the type of pitches thrown to their experience. Anyone expecting Paddack to eclipse Maeda's pitching is searching for disappointment. I expect that Paddack will have a good year for the Twins. I'm not thinking he has the WHIP and BAA numbers of a usual Kenta Maeda.

Twins say no.

Giolito would provide innings and may see the Twins as a team to boost his stock on a one year deal. the one year could cost though (up to $20M).  However, Giolito may also get someone to throw a 4/$50M or better deal his way. Giolito has money already and should be looking to put himself at the top of a post 2024 pile of SP. Maybe the Twins get him for $13M.
I always liked both Miley and Montas, but they are not likely to throw as many innings. Their contracts will decide if the Twins can gamble on one of them. I think Varland is a better bet straight up though.

Great post Hunter. 
After some discussions yesterday about my opposition to strict adherence to BTV (an interesting site to use with a grain of salt), I noticed that were several huge leaps or depreciations in the values. This got me to thinking about writing up a post about Royce Lewis. Reading this stream, I've decided to put that rough draft post in the trash because everything here applies to Lewis pretty much. 
This post and the discussions are the entire crux of a situation the Twins face this offseason. The AL Central should be in hand barring a collapse, but small tweaks can be made to move the Twins into the top ten teams in baseball. We all like Lee, Lewis, etc. Not all of the players fit. Pitching is always the main currency to winning. I like the rotation of Lopez, Ryan, Ober, Varland, and Paddack, but a clear upgrade would make a difference. I disagree that Seattle will never consider trading Kirby or Gilbert, but either will cost. BTW, for those who love BTV, Lewis is worth quite a bit more than Gilbert. 
These are the conversations being hashed out in a conference room at Target Field. Can Lewis play 2B? Lee is a little slow and has always been seen as a third baseman. I saw a few comments that suggested that Lee will be better than Correa by as early as next year and surely by 2025. Look at Correa's career and it is crazy to expect that. I'm very high on all of Lewis, Lee, and Julien. Unlike some, I can see any one of the three having a clearly better career than the other two without eliminating or favoring one.
Falvey makes the big bucks and gets to make these calls and then speak promotionally afterwards. I'm leaving all worries to him and just hope the Twins are a better team and more exciting to watch in 2024. 

Paddack could be totally solid for 100 innings and he may take the ball as a starting pitcher for around 17 games. Expecting anything more doesn't seem realistic. I'm feeling positive about Chris Paddack.

Kelenic was a type (high Ks) the Mariners had said they were moving away from this offseason. Atlanta needed some pitching (Marco) and think they can fix Kelenic. White is attached because the return is low with Atlanta taking on salary. Seattle is clearly clearing salary for a bigger deal. They are not going to go into 2024 with a roster under $120M. I would think that the Mariners have several ideas percolating and may be attempting to unload Robbie Ray as well. Guys like Gurriel Jr., Tim Anderson on a rebound, and Yamamoto would fit neatly into their team.

Time for the offense to take a turn. I'm feeling pretty good about the possibilities for the Twins offense swinging a good stick on a consistent basis throughout the year. 
The pitching will be hard pressed to repeat their team statistics. The Twins have some good guys right now but need a push from a notable arm (or two). Chris Paddack could be good and if he can throw 110 innings of 4.00 ERA, that would be huge. Louie Varland is an unknown. He could pitch 180 innings of 4.10 ERA ball to pick up the team but he is also unpredictable. 
No doubt, the Twins are hanging right now with a real need to improve their starting staff. Perhaps Ohtani signs and everyone gets to work filling in their rosters.

Sadly, he may have already been voted off the island by his peers in addition the PR departments.

Time for the offense to take a turn. I'm feeling pretty good about the possibilities for the Twins offense swinging a good stick on a consistent basis throughout the year. 
The pitching will be hard pressed to repeat their team statistics. The Twins have some good guys right now but need a push from a notable arm (or two). Chris Paddack could be good and if he can throw 110 innings of 4.00 ERA, that would be huge. Louie Varland is an unknown. He could pitch 180 innings of 4.10 ERA ball to pick up the team but he is also unpredictable. 
No doubt, the Twins are hanging right now with a real need to improve their starting staff. Perhaps Ohtani signs and everyone gets to work filling in their rosters.

The center of all discussions, regarding the offensive side of the Twins team, seems to always revolve around Buxton. Most people also feel that the Twins need a plan to cover for has been an inevitable injury. Having a guy like Austin Martin as the backup option is risky but one i can accept given the cost of the other iffy options.
My main concern is how Byron returns if healthy. Last season Buxton obviously battled some significant challenges with leg issues which resulted in a dramatic shift in his swing. Buxton will hopefully begin his settling back into baseball activities with full health because he will need to completely rebuild his swing and approach at the plate. This can be accomplished with close supervision and disciplined work habits in the cage and on the field. 
I am optimistic about a return of the talent Buxton has flashed at moments during his career. I also hope that his preparation for 2024 includes a focus on contact with his bat. Where once that was ridiculed or marked down, we have plenty of knowledge/evidence that Buxton has the bat speed and strength to punish the baseball. His desperate attempt to contribute last year included full on wild hacks whose only goal seemed to be reaching notable lengths on home runs. If you have no base for your swing and cannot run, the big swing is a consequence. Full health allows for a return to fundamental practices and this could push Buxton back to an All Star status. That would be sweet.