Han Joelo

I did. I woke up with an epiphany: RBI totals are meaningless. I also learned the secret statistical formula describing the definition of a "True" Ace, but I can't tell.

I played one season of tee ball (I was a year younger than the other prospects in my league) but spent the rest of my childhood summers driving a tractor, sometimes listening to baseball or maybe catching a couple of innings during lunch on Saturdays. Does that qualify me to join a discussion forum?

Nice write up Nick. I've read alot of these over the last couple years, but you've managed to paint Sano in a slightly different light. It seems like that with his arm, if he can't stick at 3rd, he'd be more of an asset in RF. Maybe its time to move him now?

Happy fun thread! Why isn't this on the front page?

...from the nats side. Tells me that the twins believe Meyer is no ordinary prospect--his ceiling is elite ace. Still, he's just a prospect. When I buy a powerball ticket on occasion, I don't check if its a winner til well after the drawing. It feels good to have hope.

Wow. I knew he was a great prospect, but now that I know he has the nickname of Buck, well, that is just too much. That was always the nickname I wanted people to call me.

I like alot of these picks, and most are more likely than mine, but if I were to pick one guy who comes out of nowhere to make a big splash, I'll go with Oswaldo Arcia. And if there is a second shooter on the grassy knoll, I'll say Delbinson Romero.

I like the inverted rotation thing,LJ. Could be a Moneyball type innovation.

As hard as it is to relate to people my age who are getting paid millions of dollars to play a game, I always try. In my workplace, they wouldn't be called unquestioning drones, but rather loyal soldiers who are on board with the company's way of doing things. As a non Minnesotan, I follow the Twins because I admire their business model; I am not a blind loyalist, I just like them. I think sticking together through the tough times is the very definition of a healthy organization. Reading perhaps to deeply, I get the feeling you'd rather have a fiery semi-malcontent outfielder and a finely goteed left-hander on the team then a couple of pasty faced company lackeys from up north.

Santana' contract is on that list, btw. Just saying.

Nice to read an article with a positive tone. This guy has huge upside, and its kind of weird to be talking about him as only the #5 prospect. Regardless of any stats or quotes or anything else, the surest proof of Meyer's legitimacy is that he was traded straight up for Span. Here's hoping this article can generate 4 pages of posts. If a negative nabob post about a AAAA waiver wire catcher can, this one sure should.

Nicely done. It seems like his hitting approach has produced improved numbers--homers aside--as he moves up. Your opening had me laughing--the Hannity to his Colmes? Nice.

Can someone write a post about potential salary-dump mid-season trade targets? Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay come to mind, although you've always got the no-trade nonsense. Gallardo, Lincecum, someone from the A's...They all sound better than Marcum or Saunders.

Awesome, just awesome. I keep reading about his confidence and mature approach, and I think I can actually see it in his eyes. I really like this kid.

Excellent post. I don't entirely agree with you, but consider this paraphrased quote from Einstein: "Prohibition is bad for democracy. Public meeting houses are integral to democracy--where else can you agree to disagree over a few tasty brews." The inter web is opposite. Especially when your team sucks. But as a near forty-year old, I choose to wear the rose tinted glases, drink the Kool-Aid, etc. I don't have time in my life with kids and mortgage and whatnot to dissect saber metrically every move the Twins make. I guess I'm just a glassy eyed homer who doesn't happen to pay taxes in Hennepin County. One of my best days in the last couple of years was watching Jimmer hit 600 on MLB TV along with my 2 year old. Honestly, I callled it. My boy had no idea what he was cheering for, but boy did he cheer.

I think we can agree that the Twins have a slim chance of contending this year. Why worry about the marginal value of MI's and 4/5 Starters? For the Twins to have had a decent chance of competing would have required throwing insane amounts of money at Greinke and Sanchez--far more than they signed for, to be complementary pieces on winning teams, vs. saviors on one of the worst, something I don't think either guy is exactly mentally suited for. I'm not a big stat head, but the moves all this commenting has inspired might only improve the team by a win or two. I mean really, signing Kelly Johnson for MI or Kelly Shoppach to replace the Pariah or signing Kelly Marcum-Villaneuva-Baker-Saunders-Blanton is going to turn this team around? Hell no. If Gibson, Meyer, May, and Berrios develop, than we've got a juggernaut. For me, these names and stats and contract figures are minutiae. Injury prone Marcum for 4 + 4 Mill for 1 year vs. Steady Correia for 10 for 2 years? Minimum wage Florimon vs. 2 Mill Cedeno? Who cares! They all suck. The difference is one or two wins. This team will blow as the winds of Mauer, Morneau, Willingham, and the cast of youngsters Seth outlined in his post takes them. If the winds blow favorably, like Luke Skywalker/Death Star or Frodo/Mt. Doom favorable, the unspent payroll will come in exceedingly handy come trade deadline. Maybe the pitching is adequate and the offense awesome and the competition horrible and the Twins are in striking distance at the deadline. Maybe Lincecum is revived in a walk year with a big contract. That cash in the Pohlad's bank will come in handy. If not, they've gotten a good look at some failed decisions. And we'll hopefully get to watch a bunch of (hopefully) promising young prospects get their feet wet in MLB instead of a bunch of has beens.

I agree with you, Roger, 100 percent. I tortured myself reading the Correia comments yesterday, and was kind of dismayed. Thanks Logan for fighting the good fight, but apparently at TD, one man's vitriol is another man's snark. All this angst over such minutiae! I hope they need the saved money for a big mid season trade.

Yep, he was. I seem to remember a lot of teeth gnashing at the time over the Twins giving up a hard throwing strikeout guy for a soft-tossing lefty, but it appears they got it right. With our without PED's, Bullock hasn't been able to find the strike zone.

Me too. Would be great to have some hard throwers with low mileage on their arms as starters.

Keep in mind I'm wearing rose tinted glasses and drinking Kool-Aid. 1. Trade Revere and Parmalee for Shields. If you could fuse the two of them together, they'd make a great player. Nonetheless, I'd wager that combined they'll be worth more than double the Career War of Aaron Hicks... 2. Trade Hicks for Elvis Andrus. With Maestro and Benson near ready as at least defensive CFers, and Buxton and maybe Rosario in the pipeline, trade high on Hicks. 3. Sign Haren for 3/33$ or something 4. Bring back Baker. 5. Spread a wide net for veteran SP on the rebound, starting with Pavano, Bedard, et. al. Done and done. Haren and Shields seem to profile as classic Morris/Radke/Pavano type bulldog/gritty/workhorse guys. Lineup intact with a solid addition of Andrus. Rotation bolstered.

Half full. Any team has a chance to compete as long as they have a solid core line-up like the Twins have. A couple of veterans that surprise like a Colon(uggh) or Kuroda did this year, or a younger reclamation project like Jason Hammel this year, and you've got a fighting chance. And maybe Gibson comes on midseason ala a Kris Medlen, and Baker comes back strong. I'm optimistic. And maybe you pull a Montero for Pineda type trade with either Hicks or Arcia. Counting on a bunch of guys 25 and under, along with an aging Joe Mauer, to compete in 2015 is just as big a crapshoot as trying to compete next year. And the marketing phrase "wait until the year after the year after year after this year" probably won't sell many tickets.

Either I've missed it or everybody has been holding their collective breath, but frightwig's above comment on Diamond seems long overdue. I'm being a little ironic, but I've been surprised one of the resident stat analysts (or Gleeman) hasn't burst my bubble sooner on Diamond. Shine on Scott, shine on. Nick, for some reason I am so optimistic about this team that I am hoping they trade for Felix Hernandez. May not make enough of a difference this year, but it just might re-ignite team and fan confidence going into next year.

What's the scouting report on Jones? He seems to get a lot of SO's. Hendriks is good. Oliveros, I think, will have Delmon Young flailing at some high heat sometime later this season. That is all.

Somewhat of a mirror image to this years draft--a toolsy outfielder and a hard-throwing pitcher with the top two picks. Hopefully both have a bit more upside than their predecessors, not that Span and Crain disappointed.

It was a great story and well worth the read. While the article juxtaposes marginal relief prospects, one of whom made the majors with the help of PED's, I've often thought of how Roger Clemens was making tens of millions while somewhere far down the trickle down train a young guy had his dreams quashed. And its not about the money--its about the ego or whatever.