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stringer bell

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Everything posted by stringer bell

  1. stringer bell
    Agree about the beaning. Miranda was back in a couple of days, but he quit hitting from about that point. Getting hit is one thing, getting hit in the head is another. Miranda also had a higher bar for his production since he is a corner infielder and below average at that. If Lee can be acceptable to average at shortstop and hit like he has this season, he is a second division starting shortstop. I hope for more from him, but his floor is a player with some value.
  2. stringer bell
    Have you seen McCusker’s numbers lately? He hits an occasional extra base hit, but the BA is under .250. I believe the OPS is in the low .800s. Not a ringing endorsement for another look.
  3. stringer bell
    Nice job by Topa. I wouldn't mind seeing him on the club in 2026.
  4. stringer bell
    And he runs with both feet.
  5. stringer bell
    The Twins are going to be really bad the rest of the year versus left handed pitching. Another prediction: Buxton will not get to 25 stolen bases. I was amazed when he didn't run in the third inning.
  6. stringer bell
    Approximately 350 at-bats with superstar numbers and about 400 ABs among the worst in MLB. The reality has to be somewhere in between. Certainly the fan base has lowered their expectations in the last 13 months, but 80-90% of what he did in ‘22-‘24 through the All-Star break would be plenty good. The Twins are invested in Royce and there is still a pretty good chance that he’ll be good again.
  7. stringer bell
    What's best for the prospects should be the action that is taken, but also the Twins (and everybody in MLB) want to maximize control. If Culpepper and Jenkins don't have to be put on the 40-man roster, it really doesn't make sense to put them on that roster and also to start the service time clock at this time. There are only a couple of active roster spots to add on September 1st. On the pitching side, Pablo and SWR are reported to be added and Abel and Bradley could/should also get shots. Any other prospects/suspects probably won't get a shot, even though they have a bunch of disposable arms on the active roster. I definitely would like to see a healthy Lewis work through his struggles, especially since a lot of his metrics look pretty good. The same for Lee although the same metrics look poor for him. We have had Larnach for four years and he's probably what he is. Wallner has a a poor year, despite a decent OPS, so he's another guy I would like to see the season out. What to do with Clemens? He's slumped miserably, but his overall numbers are far better than expected. Can he be counted on for 2026? Do you give him five more weeks for the front office to make up their mind on him? Buxton and Jeffers should be playing and maybe Jeffers improves his arb contract or is auditioning for a trade. Mickey Gasper doesn't belong on a big league roster from his production this year, but currently he's the #2 catcher. Fitgerald is the only real backup shortstop.
  8. stringer bell
    More on Keaschall's arm--his throws from second on double plays have looked okay and accurate, certainly not the kind of velocity generated by (traded) middle infielders Castro and Correa. I couldn't find a percentile on his throwing, but I would guess it is pretty low. I would hope his arm rebounds next year to average or better.
  9. stringer bell
    I believe that is true. It really does limit him to the right side of the infield for now.
  10. stringer bell
    An earned run against the A's J Lopez.
  11. stringer bell
    Well, give a team six or seven outs.......
  12. stringer bell
    Well, they've all taken a turn this inning.
  13. stringer bell
    Prielipp pitching for the Saints tonight. Two walks and a run in the second inning. Also four strikeouts and over 40 pitches.
  14. stringer bell
    Did Keaschall get a haircut?
  15. stringer bell
    A walk followed immediately by a homer. Oh well!
  16. stringer bell
    When the decision was made to sell off, the Twins were on about an 80 win trajectory, so they weren't underperforming by a huge amount this year, but I would submit the club has underperformed over the years precisely because they haven't developed position players to provide year-in year-out production and as you said trades and free agent signings really can't make up for failing to develop players in their own system.
  17. stringer bell
    Agree with @lecroy24fan that there is plenty of filler that can come off the 40-man roster. Adding a third catcher back is the most common move made by teams and with utility guy Gasper currently functioning as the second catcher, it probably would make sense. However, it also isn't such a pressing issue because the team is out of the playoff race. In my estimation, Sabato has progressed a great deal from last year to this year, but also in my estimation, he would have to progress even more next year to be a functional 1B/DH. I just don't think either he or McCusker will ever develop into major leaguer, although he'll possibly get a cup of coffee. Personally I'd rather see Fedko because they will need to make a decision on him and I do believe someone would take him in the Rule V draft. He also has made a real leap in production across multiple levels. I don't know Eeles status, but he might be another guy the Twins will have to make a decision on. I think Gonzalez is a lock to be added so they really don't need to see him in a Twins uniform on September first. SWR is probably going to return before the first of September and Pablo would likely be the 14th arm added when the roster expand and a 40-man move will need to be made at that time. If Vásquez doesn't return, he would be a 60-day IL move to make space for one guy.
  18. stringer bell
    Yeah, but what we’ve seen since 2019 is guys who have flashed briefly in the majors or who were top prospects but don’t get to where they can be counted on. Miranda and Julien failed. Larnach, Wallner and Jeffers didn’t advance. Castro regressed and France was what he had been the previous two years. The Twins have two position players with more than 1 WAR and they traded one of them. That isn’t a good or deep lineup. No one expects everyone to thrive, but some should get better in the first half of their career and it isn’t happening enough with Twins position players.
  19. stringer bell
    I bolded the part of your post I disagree with. The preseason Fangraphs prognostication had the Twins, Tigers, Royals and Guardians as four equal co-favorites and projected a low 80s total of wins. The 13 game winning streak made it look like more than mid-80s wins could happen, but really the talent isn't there. The players who have reached the early years of their prime haven't developed--Wallner, Jeffers, and Larnach haven't moved to the next level and two other guys--Miranda and Julien--ended up in the minor leagues. There is nothing to prove that they ever become more than marginal big league players. I have lived through the Rocco years waiting for a time when Rocco would have a lineup where the first five guys would be written in every day and it hasn't happened since 2019. I've opined that the pitching appeared to be good and deep enough to be a playoff team. The position players weren't good enough and they only had two proven players and one of them, Correa, was in a gigantic rut. Is that enough talent? I don't think so. That is where I fault both the front office and the field staff. They haven't developed position players to a level that is expected of them.
  20. stringer bell
    I was going to mention Culpepper in the OP. It looks to me like he could be the Twins shortstop for a longer time than Correa or Lee. He's shown all the tools in his two years in the minors and could be a good one. He's probably the next full-time option at both shortstop and third base. One thing I probably didn't say above that I was thinking is that I think the defense on the left side would be good enough if they do indeed hit at an above-average level.
  21. stringer bell
    Correa's WAR for 2025 through 2/3 of the season was +.1. Yes, he's a better player than that, but that is the definition of replacement level. I would expect him to rally and end up with maybe a 2.0 WAR if he had stayed, but 2.0 in his age 30 year is not what a team pays over $30M a year to receive. As I said earlier, it looked to me like he had aged significantly and prematurely and that showed most in his defense. With the players the Twins had, moving him to third base was not going to happen. Of course, moving him makes the team worse in the short run, but utilizing a portion of his salary could let the Twins acquire more on the field than Correa was providing. I think the Twins will reduce salary and not commit the savings from Correa's contract to payroll, so that would be a salary dump.
  22. stringer bell
    Triple A hitting success doesn't mean a player will hit acceptably in the majors (see Keirsey Jr., Dashawn) and I suspect the same is true for Eeles, but he's done what he can to get a chance and if he gets a chance, well stranger things have happened than seeing him succeed. That said, I'm not moving Keaschall or anybody else to make room for Eeles.
  23. stringer bell
    Pretty optimistic take for the doom and gloom I've seen. To quote Fox Mulder "I want to believe". The thing is that the Twins haven't graduated players to "regular" or "star" or "superstar" for years, including all of the Falvey years. They've had a ton of high draft choices who didn't flourish and many have disappointed
  24. stringer bell
    I'd pump the brakes on the Sabato train. In comparison to the rest of the league, he's been below average and next year he'll be playing baseball at age 27. That is not to discount the improvements he has made and if he stays in the organization he could win a spot on the Twins' roster in 2026. Until a guy returns from injury, I always worry that the injury is worse than originally reported. That probably comes from following a team that has Byron Buxton on it. I hope Jenkins is in the lineup and mashing on Tuesday and I'll check the lineups until I see his name and an at-bat. With the fire sale, I do see a roster position available for Payton Eels, maybe as soon as an injury occurs or September 1st. I don't think his numbers will be great in the majors, but his production and versatility have given him a chance to be a major leaguer. Winokur, DeBarge and Rosario have come on this season and provide some intrigue in the coming years. I think the right handed outfield options are interesting and it would seem that a few guys have passed McCusker in terms of getting a real shot to play for the Twins.
  25. stringer bell
    IMHO, the Pohlads have taken tone deafness to an art form. Benign neglect has given way to asset protection with no regard to the fans. I have seen opinions that they brought on the limited partners to alleviate the debt, hanging on with minimal investment through a (projected) work stoppage and then figuring they can get a premium price for the Twins when labor troubles are out of the way. That sounds about right to me.
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