Oldgoat_MN

Neither Buchholz nor Pomeranz make the Twins a playoff caliber team. I'd like to see them DO something significant about a SP, but doubt such a thing will happen. Guess we'll just hope everyone has a career year. Again.

I appreciate your reluctance, but Gibson led the team in ERA and ERA+. He was second to Berrios in FIP and WHIP. I'd try to lock him up for a couple extra years.

I don't imagine the Diamondbacks will let Corbin go without offering a pretty nice contract. Same as Ryu and the Dodgers. Eovaldi has done well for Boston. I wish you had listed equally good pitchers coming from Kansas City, Baltimore, San Diego, Cincinnati, etc. The teams that these pitchers are attached are successful and have money. In most cases, lots of it.

Of 86 catchers in MLB with >50 PA we had Astudillo at #1 in wRC+ and Garver was 18th. Wilson and Castro were 77th and 78th, respectively. Hopefully Garver will continue to improve, as he did this year, with more playing time. Astudillo, well, if he stays anywhere near where he was this year he will be a fan favorite for everyone. Fortunately he could regress quite a bit and still be a valuable asset.

Of 458 MLB players who had 90 PA or more, Buxton was 457th in OPS. He was 458th in wRC+ and wOBA. Dead last. He is a great fielder, but something extraordinary needs to happen with his bat in order for him to be an asset to this team. No team in the AL can afford to have an automatic out in the lineup. *edit - he was 457th in all 3 categories. Alas...

WAR is a cumulative statistic. If you look at Twins position players who had at least 100 PA Kepler was 9th in wRC+, WOBA and OPS.

I was at the game yesterday. Mauer had to feel the love. That was really special. As Wookie of the Year says, he was on a Hall of Fame trajectory. It will be interesting to see how the member of the BBWAA choose to see it.

I hope that in the next CBA the players have the dignity to insist that minor league players get paid better. And yes, I know that minor league players are not paying dues. It's a shame that no team has stepped up and increased MiLB wages on their own.

1. I am optimistic that Brent Rooker may one day be a good MLB player. However, he has posted a .255/.333/.465 (.798) line in AA. He is not ready. 2. Jake Cave is, and please don't get too upset about this, our best hitting outfielder not named Rosario. Sadly, I don't see any Twins outfielder in the organization swinging a bat well enough to force him to change his position. 3. Sano loses value when he moves to first. It would also open a hole at third. And so far this year Sano has not hit as well as Mauer. It remains to be seen if he will provide above average value at any position. 4. Grossman has a lower BA, OBP and SLG than Mauer. He's also not as good a fielder. I understand you are just trying to start a conversation, but I'm not sure he belongs on this list. 5. Tyler Austin may have some promise, but the Yankees let us have him even as their current first baseman is sporting a .670 OPS. What do they know that we don't yet know? Of the 25 1B with a 'qualified' number of plate appearances in MLB this year, 9 of them have a lower fWAR than Joe Mauer. FanGraphs rates 15 of them as poorer fielders than Mauer (using their Defensive Runs above Replacement metric). I understand that people want the 2006 version of Justin Morneau at first base for the Twins next year, but we don't have one of those. If the Twins sign Mauer for another year, I will not feel that this means they are 'giving up' on 2019. Hopefully someone young and awesome will step up and force their way into the lineup at first base in the not-too-distant future. In the meantime, Mauer is a better option than several other teams have managed to put on the field. While frustrating, I believe this to be the truth of the situation.

I'd be impressed if he hit like Ted Uhleander.

I think they should bring him up and let him play. If he starts out next season hitting poorly send him all the way back to AA or even A+ and have him work his way up again. At some point he needs to have an OPS of .700 or better to be a valuable MLB player, even with his amazing skills in the field.

FYI: The Rangers have Elvis Andrus signed through 2022 with an option for 2023. Made me think enough that I looked it up.

How can a guy who is a professional baseball manager continue to put Morrison's name on a lineup card? Enough already.

Thank you for the write-up and your impressions. It's fun to have a fan describe what what it looks like to a fan. Sadly, the impressions of Gonsalves and Gordon were pretty much what I've been thinking. Alas...

I wonder if the MIs we have in MiLB will affect trying to sign Escobar. He will likely want a 3 year contract (at minimum). What are the Twins thinking of as a timeline for Lewis, Javier, etc.? I hope they either sign him or let us know why they don't go after him hard.

Lots of data and nice, concise write-ups. It looks like a lot of work, Seth. Please know it is appreciated.

Thanks Seth. Nice article. Looking at his Baseball-Reference page I see something kind of unusual. His WHIP has not been at or above 1.3 since his first year and he has never had an ERA of 4.00 or higher at any level. What mix of pitches has had him doing this well?

Geez mikelink45... And I thought I was sarcastic.

I'm not going all in on this particular 4th and 10. Not quite ready to punt, though.

You get multiple guys who have performed well in AAA, like Garver and Cave, one of them sooner or later are going to start hitting well in MLB. Being an easy going kinda guy, I'm fine if they both pick up the pace.

Kudos. Seldom is so much said in so few words.

Well that was, um, different. Thanks, I guess.

While it is true that Magill is likely to regress, his success is driven by his career low WHIP. I understand that the low BABIP is partly responsible, but Magill is also walking batters at what is effectively a career low as well. As long as he keeps from giving out free passes he can likely continue to be effective. He has certainly been a pleasant surprise for the Twins so far this season.

If Gibson continues to pitch well through the end of the year I would like to see them offer an extension. I do not have the confidence some have in Gonsalves or Littell. Mejia is the one I expect to be strong in MLB, as he has an ERA <3, a WHIP <1.25 and is getting 9.6 K/9 in Rochester this year. He has also had some success in MLB in the past. Other than him I think our arms in the higher MiLB are questionable.

Molitor isn't going anywhere right after winning MOY and signing a 3 year contract. And he can learn. The egregious bunting from the last couple of years has not been seen this year. Maybe we can get the pitching coach to decide who is available to pitch. That might protect the pitchers. Then we can get someone to play some of the younger players when they first come up instead of riding the bench most of their first few weeks in MLB. Now, if we can find someone to make up the line-up card, Molitor could start looking just fine...