twinsfanstreif

And at 6 years $68 million I think it could end up being a pretty good deal. I could be wrong but I think he's gonna be decent for that price. I knew the $100 million rumors were bull

I lean Uggla, Utley was the best in the biz for several years, Uggla was a pretty good hitter that could hit some bombs for a 2B, sounds more like Dozier to me

I just saw that the M's gave Kyle Seager 7 years $100 million! He basically posted Brian Dozier numbers at the same age with GG defense at 3B. Is it just me or is that WAY too much for an above average player? The M's seem determined to inflate the market, does this affect Dozier's contract demands?

A new tweet by Berardino says that Rangers have no knowledge about winning the bid. Either way I'm not upset, I thought he could be a good bullpen arm but I wasn't expecting much more.

MLBTR is reporting that the Astros are shopping CF Dexter Fowler for bullpen help (Link). I don't know much about him aside from glancing at some stats. Would this be a good pick up if it only cost us a couple of average BP guys?

I just remembered, Tony Batista, this reminds me of that situation. didn't work out then, probably won't work out now

From what I understand most Koreans speak english, I have a freind from South Korea and he said that english is spoken frequently in the major cities, the only way people don't know english is if they're from rural areas

It topped out in the video I saw at 149 (93ish), he was mostly hovering in the 145 (90) range. his control is a problem because of inconsistant mechanics, even most of his strikeouts were guys chasing out of the zone. He's be a LOOGY with the chance to spot start I presume

I'm too lazy to look it up but who was it that we signed back from Japan a few years ago (could be more like 7, time flies you know?) exactly like this and he sucked? For the life of me I can't remember but I think he was a 3rd baseman

I thought the recent update said that the Phillies were cold on Tomas because of the D, they see him as more of a DH guy. Hey the A's just gave Billy Butler $10 million a year, Tomas has to be better than that right?

I still think there's a shot with Aiken, teams get really funny with potential injury risk. I also feel like the mocks that have Cameron falling in the bottom of the top 10 are insane, I think his tools alone will entice someone in the top 5, like I said, he looks like a Buxton clone and I wouldn't be surprised if he went 1.1 I like Allard a lot, don't know much about Russell. This is a pretty deep draft on the top end and it looks like we'll get a pick of quite a few good players

Funkhouser profiles more as a reliever, he's hot on some lists right now but I can see him dropping just like Cederoth did last year. He has electric stuff but will probably end up being a closer, that's fine if you're down in the draft but not at #6, that's why I dropped him. This is just my list in order of preference not in how good I think they are. I like Aikin's stuff better than Bickford but his UCL scares me and Buehler's size is why he's lower. I like Rogers and he's probably the 4th or 5th best player in the draft but he profiles so similar to Gordon I don't like the idea of drafting pretty much the same guy 2 years in a row, that's why I prefer someone else.

I'm an avid Draft nut and I know it's early but I wanted to highlight some of the potential Targets for next year's draft. Of course there will be some risers (ala Jon Grey/Kyle Zimmer) and some that will fall (Sean Manaea) but with technology, advanced stats, and better scouting info a lot of these guys will stay in a similar spot if they perform like they should. Here's my top 10 list in order of my preference (as of now), obviously some of these guys might be out of reach at #6 but it's worth noting all of our options: 1. Michael Matuella, RHP, Duke - size and plus 4 pitch mix make him an attractive option, most likely will be gone 2. Nathan Kirby, LHP, Virginia - Left handed and electric stuff, highlighted by a 18 K no-hit game vs Pitt this year 3. Phil Bickford, RHP, Southern Nevada CC - Apparently has improved from the 2013 draft where he went #10 overall, I'd still like to see more Ks but he's been very good, will go to JUCO to be draft eligable 4. Brady Aiken, LHP, Yavapai CC - I liked him a lot last year and still think the Kershaw comps are pretty good, the UCL thing worries me a bit but if he makes it to #6 then we have to pull the trigger 5. Daz Cameron, OF, HS - a Buxton clone, son of former MLer Mike Cameron, probably will be gone 6. Justin Hooper, LHP, HS - Huge kid with 97+ MPH fastball, could add some ticks to that as well, I've heard he's a little raw but could be a Giolito type, Randy Johnson upside with this kid 7. Walker Buehler, RHP, Vanderbilt - Kinda small (6'1" 165) but could add some bulk, he's been as consistant as anyone and looks like an Aaron Nola type of guy, I liked Nola last year and he's been solid so far, Buehler could be similar. The downside is years of Farris Buehler jokes that will get old really quick. 8. Trenton Clark, OF, HS - Tore it up for team USA (.538/.655/.923), not as athletic as Cameron but has a good arm in the OF and has more power potential. 9. Brendan Rodgers, SS, HS - The best SS in the class, has top 5 potential but I put him down here because we don't need any more MIs and we drafted a HS SS last year, I know BPA and all but I don't care, he'll probably be gone anyways. 10. Alex Bregman, SS, LSU - Best college SS, might have to move to 2B. He's a solid overall player who is praised for his leadership the only problem is he doesn't have any tools that stick out. Reminds me too much of Gordon Beckham when he was coming out of college and that doesn't sit well with me. Sleepers: Mike Nikorak, RHP, HS - Big body, Big fastball, could make some noise Cody Ponce, RHP, Cal Poly Pomona - from a small school but scouts are just now noticing him, could rise fast James Kaprielian, RHP, UCLA - Just converted to a starter last year and looked good, could rise if he adds some ticks to his FB Jake Lemoine, RHP, Houston - I had to add this guy from my alma mater, I've seen him in person and he just mowed down hitters, doesn't have the command that we'd like to see but he has a very good 3 pitch mix that could improve this year. Houston got a new pitching coach last year and Lemoine thrived under him, hopefully he can take a step forward, if not he's an option for the 2nd round So obviously I want a college starter to boost our rotation and there are plently of options this year but this years draft looks to be a very good one.

What do we see his trade value realistically at? He wouldn't net a Meyer type prospect so what are we really looking at here? Probably a guy a little better than Malone if he's ML ready or a Thorpe type of guy in the minors? Is that worth it?

On the May inclusion, BA overvalues ML ready players and will place them higher because of it. Remember when they had Nick Blackburn as our #1 prospect? Granted our farm system was trash then but still we had Wilson Ramos and Ben Revere in that top 10 below Blackburn.

Yea, seems pretty stupid, plus they loose a pick

Yea, there's a reason that the Royals are looking to upgrade from Aoki

Would people be ok with Tomas if we could get him for 6 years $60 million?

I think the 100 million number is blown way out of proportion, it was a media speculation based on nothing. Abreu got 6 years $68 million and many believe he was a far superior prospect. Most realistic reports based on scouting reports suggest 10-12 million a year and a 6 or 7 year deal that's more like 60-80 million not 100

I believe the subpar defense is related to him being listed as a CF, I could be wrong but I thought that he rated out well as a corner outfielder

Let's hear it for optimism everyone! I know it's unlikely but come on guys, most of the major markets have said that they are out on Tomas, in fact the only big market teams that have been linked to him recently are SF and Philly. The report says 3 out of the 4 teams with heavy interest are "extreme dark horses" I'm going to assume KC is one of them and their fans would say the same thing, who could the other 2 be? Pitt? TB? Milwaukee? Any of those teams would say the same thing, too expense, never signed a big name guy like that, not gonna happen, etc. have some hope guys!

According to this (http://www.fangraphs.com/library/pitching/fip/) a FIP of 4.36 is below average and almost in the poor category, his K rate is almost exactly league average (7.1 is average). I understand he was in the AL east and I think he'll succeed in the NL but he is a league average pitcher or below on almost every metric even in his successful years

I saw that MLB trade rumors has listed the Twins as a dark horse candidate to land Yasmany Tomas. I know we've talked about him in the past but no one seemed to acknowledge this recent mention http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2014/11/yasmany-tomas-rumors-friday.html

He also had a low average of .260 of balls put in play (most pitchers are around .300) and a strand rate of 80%, those are unrepeatable numbers and he was bound to come back down to earth. That being said the 5.17 was on the other spectrum, he will be somewhere between them and will look even better in the NL. On the twins he would have hovered around a mid 4 era and would have been a solid 3 at best

I actually like it, after looking at it for a while it's grown on me, I like the tri colored stripes on the sleaves, coller, and pants. I'm not a fan of the gold on the hat though, looks too busy