shs_59

I just wanted to add that if BJ Hermsen had 2-3 MPH more on his Fast-ball he'd essentially be Doug Fister , or close too.... Without it , he's scott richmond, evan frederickson , or even worse Deolis Guerra. too bad really.

For 1 year ? I'd have rather had AJ Burnett. for 3 years ? Well thats easy PHIL HUGHES! -- over Burnett, Arroyo, Garza, Santana all of 'em i guess. But 2 years for $ 15, 16 Million would of been about perfect. Look at it this way: the Twins are Paying P. Hughes 24 Million to make 90-93 starts for them essentially right? well I think EVEN the Twins know, they'd be Thrilled, happy; If Hughes made 65-68 starts for them with maybe a few relief apperances in there in the next 3 years. I think he'll make about 45-50 starts and about 15-20+ relief appearances between 2014-2016. With something like a 7.8 K per 9 , 3.0 BB per 9 , 3.95 XFip , 4.15 ERA , and 1.5 HR per 9 or about 22-25 HRS given up a season. * Hughes averages about 92.0 MPH on his Fastball !!!! Perk and Tonkin the Tank can only top that. (untill Meyer, Berrios, May) * Hopefully his other Fastball is a Mariano like Cutter and not a two-seamer.... * Hughes has a mid 70's curve-ball , a low 80's slider , a mid 80's change up too !!! 5 pitch pitcher

Guys i Like as Breakouts Pitchers: 1) Austin Malinowski = Turns into a stud left-handed reliever by end of year for Cedar Rapids/ Ft. Myers. 2) Miguel Sulbaran = Probably a better all-around pitching prospect to Jose Berrios, (for now) and benefits from being a southpaw....might get all the way to AA, possibly just a taste of AAA. 3) J.T. Chargois = the once, top relief prospect, returns with vengence and HE, not Tonkin looks like our future closer in waiting. (although i think Tonkin will be a fine middle reliver or 7th inning secondary set-up man.) other lefties : Brett Lee, Stephen Gonsalves (1 will probably go bust) hopefully the other stays healthy all year, and turns into a #3 type of starter. Love the Brian Gilbert love too from above BTW. Hitters: 1) James Beresford , at some point gets a shot/ crack at Utility job for Gardy and his all-around speed/ defense combo at 2B and SS keeps him on the team into 2015. Think Pete Kozma ish. 2 ) Aaron Hicks , returns late in the year to turn into a solid Big League 3rd Outfielder, shouldn't start EVERY day, but maybe 4-5 times a week in CF. 3) Aderlin Mejia , mainly because @ Seth Stohs didn' even have him in his top 50! Although, i probably overate him severely i think he's still a bit underlooked. People i think totally turn into busts: Kennys Vargas, Trevor May, Kohl Stewart!?!?! , Ryan Eades , Zack Jones , Travis Harrison, Eddie Rosario (hate to say it, but) Where'd the power stroke go Eddie? Still holding out some hope for Berrios and Kepler. Hope I'm pleasantly suprised by: Taylor Rodgers , Niko Goodrum , Tyler Duffy , Tyler Jones, Stuart Turner, Levi Michael, Alex Wimmers. Eades too! HOPE I"m REALLY wrong about Kohl Stewart, its just a random gut feeling, mainly about his work ethic, and hair-style and choices with girls, friends, parties, social media. I feel that it may take longer than we expect but Lewis Thorpe and Amaurys Minier will be good to really really good one day. To all players involved Please may God willing, blessingly and YOU stay healthy!

I should mention that I think Ubaldo Jiminez and Mashiro Tanaka are better pitchers than A.J. Burnett , and Burnett is nearing 40. But on a 1 year deal I think Burnett is RIGHT with those other 2 and you CANNOT get either of those at anything NEAR a 1 yr. contract.

I'd Be Ok With Hughes for something like 2 yrs , $ 15 M or 1 Yr 7-8 Million. But I'd rather have AJ Burnett Burnett's FIP and XFIP last year, not to mention his K rate Were sooooo ridiculously good. HOPEFULLY he's got 1 good year, like that, left in him. Burnett on a 1 or 2 yr deal at almost any dollar figure I'd take over Phill Hughes AJ Burnett is greater than : Garza, Jiminez, M. Tanaka? , E. Santana, T. Hudson, R. Nolasco and even Hughes, Kazmir, and Arroyo. his K per 9 (~9.5) , K per Walk and his OPP batting average: 228 ...... are all so much better than these other guys (for the most part) PLUS his low 3 ERA (3.38) was HIGHER than his fip and xfip, basically meaning Burnett may have gotten a little UNLUCKY last year. Burnett, similarly to Nolasco basically walks nobody. I know it was the NL with the pirates. But AJ Burnett on a 1 yr. 14-15 Million dollar deal WOULD BE Great by me. Not sure if AJ would want to be a Twin.... He'd instantly become our ace.

At least Welker throws hard. Want more? PJ Walters (K.C.) , Liam Hendriks, Andrew Albers, Pat Dean (in a small sample) What do those 4 pitchers all have in common? Their AAA #'s are all GREATER than Kris Johnson's. I hope i'm waaay wrong about Johnson, but Scott Diamond is a better pitcher and likely even Albers.

Welker , 27 , was dealt for a fringe lefty-starter Kris Johnson , 29 Today. In doing, so the Twins get an emergency starter, if things get ugly... Man, seems like a lot of confidence in the bullpen to let Welker go for almost nothing.

THANK U CMB0252 ! WOW this has me wet with excitement :-)

Hey Mr. Goin.... Which College had the privlage to call Jack one of their students? Also Does , in you're estimation or best honesty, Terry Ryan OR Rob Antony know what BABIP truley is? IF so Great! How about WRC+ ? On the pitching side which do you prefer as a great way to assess a pitcher.? Is You're method/ formula differ greatly or actually is similar to the above mentioned Mr. Ryan and Antony.? I Apologize for long question, and realize it may go un-read anyways.

Nicely Thought out however.. in yr. 2014 BUXTON will not make the Majors. Best case is mid or late 2015. IMO He's NOT TROUT (We don't want to turn him into BJ Upton) Even taking our time with him he could be Austin Jackson, so no need to rush him. #2 Waaaay waaaaaaaaaaaay to much Money for Ervin "unmagical" Santana 4 Yrs? and 18 Mill a year? You're out of you're mind . Nobody will go 4 years with him at that money, maaaaaybe on 2 years. I'd say 3 years at 14 per so 3 years 42 Mill with maybe some incentives. And in 2015 WAAAAAAAAAAAAY to much Money for an old aging, terrible Asdrubal Cabrera

Option #1 Eddie Rosario, Jose Berrios, and Adam Brett Walker along with Duensing and Doumit to San Francisco for Madison Bumgarner (or Matt Cain and Martin Agosta) Option #2 Josh Willingham, Ryan Doumit, Alex Meyer, Michael Tonkin and Felix Jorge to Atlanta Braves For Alex Wood and Lucas Sims.

Obviously I am hoping for Matt Hoffman !!!!!!!! And i now have a connection to a ground grew member at Cedar Rapids IA team! Yae !!!!!!!!!!! :-) cheap tix for next year! I'd say #1 : Hoffman, Rodon, Turner, Toussaint, and Jackson then Kolek + they'll be 1 or 2 names not listed in that top 10 come the summer.

Cool, insightful read AJ. I think many Fans that are non-athletes don't really know how many times this can happen over the course of any given athletes career. What questions did youre wife come up with before the anasthiesa kicked in? LOL Heal up and go get 'em for the Cats / Rd. Wings in 2014!

John, Baseball Prospectus Killed BA then if those lists are indeed the ones coming into the yr. their top guys now: (Cole, Marte, Wilson and others are graduates) 1. Jameson Taillon (um-no) 2. Tyler Glasnow (un-touchable) 3. Gregory Palanco (same) 4. Alen Hanson (gettable maybe) 5. Nick Kingham (my choice) 6. Austin Meadows (2013 draft choice) 7. Josh Bell 8. Reese McGuire (Catcher 2013 draft pick) 9. Kyle Mcpherson 10. Luis Heredia others: Gift Noegpe, Duke Welker, Alex Dickerson and a few other pitchers.

Quick trade re-cap in recent history: Scale = 1 to 5 stars. 1. Johan Santana for Gomez, Mulvey, Humber, and Guerra .....1 and a half stars. 2. Matt Garza, Bartlett, Morlan for Delmon Young, Brendon Harris and Jason Pridie ................................................................................. 1 star. 3. Ramos and minor leaguer for Matt Capps . ....2 stars. 4. Gomez for J.J. Hardy ................................ 2 stars. 5. J.J. Hardy for James Hoey and Jacobsen ....... 1/2 a star. 6. F. Liriano for Eduardo Escobar and Pedro Hernandez ....... 1 or 2 stars. 7. Denard Span for Alex Meyer .........................4 stars. 8. Ben Revere for Trevor May and Worley ..........1 1/2 stars. 9. Drew Butera for Miguel Sulbaran ....................4 stars. 10. Justin Morneau for Pressly, and Welker ............. N/A. impcomplete...but leaning 2 stars at best. overall grade 18 stars out of a 45 possible stars. = EPIC failure.

Channeling my inner Aaron Gleeman here maybe, but who gives a flock about the 2014 Twins roster? the 2015 Twins is what REALLY matters, particuallry in the second half. 1. DH Eddie Rosario 2. 2B Brian Dozier 3. 1B Joe Mauer 4. 3B Miguel Sano (rookie yr, i believe) 5. LF Oswaldo Arcia 6. RF Trevor Plouffe (hoping for an Alex Gordon lite like Turn-around) 7. C Josmil Pinto 8. CF Aaron Hicks / Alex Pressly [platoon] 9. SS Danny Santana / Pedro Florimon [platoon] ---- bench: Florimon Pressly Herrmann Collabello or Parmelee or Vargas or FA type....like a Kubel, Reynolds, or Scheirholz type. SP 1 Brandon Morrow 3 years $16.5 M per with option for 4th + incentives; 50 million dollars. 68 Million if 4 years. SP 2 Kyle Gibson SP 3 Alex Meyer (could be actual rookie yr, if spends lots of time in AAA in 2014) SP 4 Colby Lewis (replacement for Correia) SP 5 Scott Diamond RP 1 Glen Perkins RP 2 Michael Tonkin (please oh please God) RP 3 Jared Burton/ or Casey Fien MR 4 Ryan Pressly MR 5 Caleb Theilbar MR 6 Trevor May LR 7 Andrew Albers (spot 6th starter) (some top guys in AAA) Byron Buxton*, Daniel Ortiz, Evan Bigley, Nate Hanson, James Beresford*, Matt Koch. Zach Jones*, Zach Jones, Zach Jones, Alex Swimmer Wimmers? , Jason Wheeler, Liam Hendriks*, Vance Worley*, AJ Achter. + Dakota Watts* (some top guys in AA) Travis Harrison, Jorge Polanco, A.B. Walker, Max Kepler? , Stuart Turner, Jorge Fernandez, Aderlin Mejia, Jose Berrios, Miguel Sulbaran, Mason Melotakis, Tyler Jones, Tyler Duffy, Taylor Rogers, Luke Bard? I think Kohl Stewart will start 2015 in High A Ft. Myers but ya never know.

Did the Twins ruin Aaron Hicks? By rushing him? Too soon to tell? I hope so because Nick Nelson and all you "fans" that wanted him in Minnesota to start open day this spring, should be partly the ones to blame. Stupid STUPID decision to start Hicks in MLB. I would of started him in Rochester or even New Britain! now he may be ruined as a professional offensive player....where in lies most of his value. at the very least he may be down the Dexter Fowler path, in which he won't be any good untill about the second half of 2015 or 2016. Wil he still be with the Twins then? or will Gardenhire and/ or the Front Office run out of patients with him by then....... Man I just HATE the way the Twins handled Center field this WHOLE YEAR.

There are many out there that would contend the Blue Jays screwed up BIG TIME (they traded Noah Syndergaard and Travis d' Arnaud to the Mets for R.A. Dicky.... Syndergaard many view, as the #1 or #3 pitching prospect in all of baseball. Obviously Buxton is the #1 or #2 prospect in ALL of baseball. so Buxton for Syndergaard and Niese and maybe 1 more player, even if a C+ type I would STRONGLY consider if I was any member of the Twins front office. But a trade like that, just hardly ever Happens..... Teams don't trade top prospect for top prospect generally. It'd almost HAVE to be an off-season trade and LET ME SAY THIS when was the last time TR made an off-season trade? exactly. Buxton is too good to move though, i'd be more comfortable trying to move Rosario and saaay A.B. Walker for a stud pitching prospect.....probably not Syndergaard but maybe a different Met.......like Rafael Montero. Or the Royals' Yordano Ventura I REALLY like the Reds' Robert Stephenson.

My Prediction: 1. Josh Johnson/ Doc Halladay or/ Tim Lincecum 8-12 million a yr. for 3 years with an option........... In Lincecum's case may require 11-13 Mill in Halladay maybe only a 2 yr deal 2. Samuel Deduno 3. Colby Lewis (FA , 1 yr $4.5 Million with incentives that can earn him 5.5 Million) 4. Kyle Gibson 5. Kevin Correia Bullpen: Perkins, Fein, Burton, Theilbar, Pressley, Swarzak, Albers (can spot start) Roenicke gets non-tendered and Duensing is traded with someone (likely Doumit) in a 2 for 1 off-season trade. AND OTHER BIG MOVE: Re-sign 1B Justin Morneau 3 years for $33.5 Million thru 2016 10.5 M , 11.0 M , 11.5 M ....with 250K incentive for leading twins in HR's, 500 K incentive for all-star game apperance, 750K incentive for AL MVP candidate, and $1.0 for AL MVP or World Series MVP. ALL THIS CAN BE DONE with only a small increase in salary from $78 Million to 85 ish.... Pelfrey's, Duensing, Doumit's and some of Morneau's money ....is reason. Then Hopefully Willingham has an amazing 1st half in 2014, so he can be dealt for a studly prospect or 2 at trade deadline to make room for Sano. (Plouffe shifting to outfield and Sano 3B)

Manuel Sulbaran .......looks like a good young southpaw. a low 90's hurler who might touch mid 90's as he adances. He'll be ready for High A ft. Myers by years end, otherwise he'll start next yr there! :-) Great trade :-) i'd rank the Twins' arms as follows: (no gibby) 1. Meyer 2. Stewart 3. Berrios 4. Gonsalves 5. May 6. F. Jorge 7. Z. Jones 8. R. Eades 9. M. Sulbaran 10. Wheeler/ Dean/ Albers/ Darnell/ Malinowski something to that affect. obiously there are some relievers who could make a decent impact besides Jones and Malinowski..... A.J. Achter, Matt Hauser, Luke Bard, JT Chargois, Boer? and a few others.

A couple months ago....I figured a 4yr 12 million dollar deal (3 milll a yr) + a 3.5 Million dollar signing bonus would be enough to get him. Thats obviously not the case if you can get him even near that type of deal. THE tWINS and TR need to do it! otherwise Guerrero would be ok. I'd be fine with him ....

Eddie Rosario?

At this point, I'm really starting to think Morneau is in the 2014 plans! Yes i said it, let him hit his way to earning a 2014 contract at say, ..........8 or 9 million.

Buxton continues to roll along nicely. The things he's doing as a 19 Yr. old in advanced A are awfully impressive. No, he's not Mike Trout, and know that that talk as died down some. Hopefully the pressure is off him a bit more and he can continue staying focused and do the neccessery things to keep improving. From the sounds of it, a GREAT kid and very humble. I like that a LOT in a potential superstar prospect.