Jim H

Ok, the top 4 guys in plate appearances also were the top 4 players in runs scored. This shows what, exactly? On top of that, Bell and Clemens spent most of the year batting 3rd and 4th. I am not sure their runs scored is all that impressive in that context. I wonder how many runs Roden scores if he bats 3rd all year? The problem is he got almost no run at the major league level, so we can even make a good guess. The real question for me was why he traded for? He was sandwiched between veteran left handed hitting outfielders Wallner, Larnarch, and Outman, and higher ceiling outfielders nearly ready in the minors. Now, a year later, we still don't know if Roden has a future with the Twins.

Clemens and Bell are decent players. But, they are capped. They won't get better and they might decline. What I think is the Twins need to do, is to figure out which of the corner out field, first base, dh guys they want to keep, and how they want to play them. Larnarch, Wallner, Lewis, Keashall, Martin, Rodriguez, Roden, Jenkins,and Gonzalez are still all on 40 man roster. Which are you keeping, where are you playing them? A lot of these guys have some sort of upside. Probably more than what Bell or Clemens are now. Once you know how to proceed with what might be your youngish core, it makes it easier to decide what to do with Bell and Clemens. Then you decide whether it's worth trying to trade for or perhaps sign a veteran free agent. Also I don't believe the Twins currently have a surplus of pitching. If that somehow happens next spring, deal with it then.aa

I agree with Bean's thoughts on the farm system. Jenkins figures to be an impact player. Possibly Lackey as well. The other ranked guys are likely major regulars. Once the various corner outfielders get sorted, I think the Twins should get a major league regular or two from that group. There are interesting prospects further away, but it is hard to spot a surefire major league starter among the minor league pitchers. For such a "loaded system" the minor league results were rather disappointing. Maybe it will look better next year.

I saw Shelton saying a few days ago that he would play the veterans since Texas was still in the playoff hunt. I am not sure how that makes the Twins more competitive, but that is what he said.

I don't think this exercise of Brian's actually proves anything. But, i agree with him.. This manic obsession with always trying to get the opposite handed hitter into the batter's box as often as possible, certainly has a huge effect on games. Consider that the Twins STARTED 9 different center fielders this season. Buxton started about one half the games this year. The other 8 starters seemed to be chosen primarily because of which side of the plate they stood on. Two players who had never played centerfield in pro ball before, started in centerfield. So the Twins determined who played one of the most important defensive positions on the field, basically by how they could get the most players on the correct side of the batter's box. Other teams do similar things, there are huge numbers of manuevers teams do to get the correct batter into the batter's box during the game. Brian is right to question how much all this contributes to winning. Less optimal defensive alignments is just one of the side effects of all the movements. I am going to stop here. This is a topic I think should be explored more. I would also be interested in how the this is justified by the Twins management. Turning so many players into platoon pieces, changing lineups nearly every game, moving players up and down the lineup card on a daily basis, pinch hitting in the 4th or 5th inning, are all things that happen under this philosophy. It is fair to wonder how much this helps winning.

The simple answer to the article's title is "let them play". The answer is embedded in the article, but disguised by a lot of verbiage. The drafted players have played baseball since age 5 and have had success at every level, or they wouldn't have been drafted. They will need to struggle before changes to swing or pitching attributes will be accepted or really even needed. I expect the orientation mentioned in the article isn't really much of a necessity for the players either. Maybe for a high school draftee, but these players have been adapting to new coaching and training pretty much every year since age 5. More intensity maybe at the pro level maybe, but college baseball programs can be pretty intense as well.

If you are planning to make people pay for most content, you will lose people. You already have ads all over this site. That should be enough.

Uh, no. Hrbek was very good, both offensively and defensively. Defensively, he had great hands, was surprisingly nimble around first and was well known for going a long way to catch difficult popups. He combined hitting for average with power early in his career. In 1987 he had a ops greater than Puckett and as the main left handed hitting threat in the lineup throughout his career he balanced out the lineup. Injuries, added weight and changing his swing for more power did lessen his value during the last part of his career. I also don't really understand the point of this comparison. But, Hrbek certainly deserves to be in the Twins Hall of Fame.

A salary floor is likely to help the players more than no salary cap. Currently there are only a handful of teams that really spend big. If you force all teams up to a 170 mil minimum for example, it will a lot more total money than what is being spent by the owners now. Of course this will likely force the salaries up for ordinary players rather than the already well paid top earners. I expect the owners will want a salary cap as well. At least some of them will. That could cause a divide among the owners. There is no real benefit for either the players or the owners to allow this to go to a lockout or holdout. If there is no baseball there is a very real chance that too many fans won't come back for a long time. Which would hurt both the sides.

Good topic. Right now, I like Lee the best of these 3. His skill set seems to fit 3b well. I think by next year his defense at 3rd will be a bit smoother and he will have picked up some more of the nuances of the position. His glove is good, his arm and range are good enough for 3rd. He has enough power for a 3rd baseman if his on base skills tick up a bit. His major weakness is hitting left-handed pitching but that could improve with time. It is too bad Keashall seems to have washed out at 2nd base. His speed, aggressive play, and general hustle are a team need. If there is a clear strength in the Twins organization, it is likely corner outfield. I don't think his offensive profile is high enough to be more than a placeholder for higher ceiling prospects in the system. Lewis looks like he could be an excellent 1st baseman. Which is disappointing from a guy with the tools to be excellent anywhere else in the infield or even centerfield but somehow he isn't. The question is the bat, especially as a 1st baseman. The way he produces at times makes you think the bat shouldn't be a question but it is. I am starting to think he is a place holder as well, until someone better shows up.

The problem against left-handed pitching comes from Buxton and Jeffers being out so much in June and July plus the 3 switch hitters being bad against left handers. Adding a lefty masher doesn't really fix anything if you are going to continue to play Bell and Caratini against lefthanders and bat them in the middle of the lineup. Martin and Keashall are actually pretty good against lefthanders, so adding another right handed hitter makes little sense to me, when the only place he can play is corner outfield. If you are batting Buxton and Jeffers at the top of the order, a large problem for the Twins all year has been the mushy middle of the lineup. It was masked in June when Clemens, Caratini and Bell all got hot together. But really the only hitter who has resembled a middle of the order hitter this year is Clemens and he has been pretty streaky. I really agree with many, in that I would like to see at one of supposed premium prospects promoted and installed in the middle of the lineup. I want to see whoever is promoted playing pretty much everyday against both lefthanders and right handers. Unless Buxton gets healthy and Jeffers is still here, most of what the Twins, might do, and have already done at the deadline won't matter much. The defense is still shaky, the bullpen will not become dominant, all the injured starters won't be coming back this year to save the Twins. The best thing about the Twins this year is they play hard and are generally fun to watch. I hope they make the playoffs but the front office should be most concerned about building a better team without so many holes and limitations.

Baby steps. Sunday against a left handed starter neither Bell or Caratini started, or actually played at all. Lee played but was in the bottom third of the order. The Twins scored 11 runs. Baseball is completely unpredictable from game to game. It is unlikely that not playing Bell and Caratini really was the reason they scored 11 runs. Especially since the left handed starter wasn't in the game long. But, maybe Shelton won't feel so obligated to start them against every single left handed starter.

The gap in production against left handed starters and right handed starters has gotten much larger than it was earlier in the season. I also see that there is article on TD that advocates for trading for another right handed hitter. Does nobody pay attention. The biggest problem against left handed pitchers is the switch hitters. None of the 3 do well against left handers, plus they are generally somewhere in the middle of the lineup. They tend to kill rallys on a consistent basis. I really dislike this consistent effort to turn every left handed hitter into a platoon partner. They seem to be doing it to Roden now. I have no idea if he can hit left handed hitting at an acceptable level at the major league level. I rather doubt we will ever find out.

Comparing Winokur to Kepler is something of a stretch. Kepler was a 16 year old international free agent from Germany. Nobody thought there was any chance Kepler could move normally thru the farm system. Even compared to 16 year olds from Latin America, he had certainly played less competitive baseball growing up. Still you are basically right in that even if his development isn't linear, his athleticism will give him chances to figure it out. You don't want to give up on talented athletes too soon. Cuddyer is an example of a talented athlete drafted as a shortstop who repeated a level, moved positions and basically took awhile to develop. Still, he needs to make more contact then he does now to have much chance of being a major league regular.

No, top prospects aren't treated that way and prospects who have a good chance to carve out a regular role aren't treated that way either. It is hard for anyone to go from playing everyday to playing very sporadically. That is what happened to Clemens for example. When he got regular playing time he went from being considered a AAAA player to a middle of the order bat. Now I agree, Fedco may be lucky to get any major league run whatsoever. Nevertheless you really can't tell much about whether he has a major league bat when a player is used that way. Especially on his very 1st major league call up.