cmb0252

The new CBA stops you from being able to offer a qualified offer to a player who has been traded for mid season.

This reminds me of last year when people were throwing out ridiculous trades involving Buxton right after we drafted him. A) you can't trade new draft signings for a year. why would the Marlins trade a 20 year old stud pitcher while he is still cheap? C) its never, ever, ever, getting back together...... errrr happening.

A note from the All Star game from Jim Bowden: The star of the Home Run Derby was Yoenis Cespedes, but the guy who really opened eyes was Clovis (Calif.) High School shortstop Jacob Gatewood, who put on a show during a modified derby competition among high schoolers during commercial breaks. He is committed to USC but likely won't ever make it to campus, as he is among the early candidates to be the No. 1 overall pick next June.

From Jim Bowden: The Justin Morneau era is about over in Minnesota. The Twins are prepared to trade him, with the Yankees, Pirates and Rays all being rumored as possible destinations. In other Twins news, the St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, Los Angeles Dodgers, andAtlanta Braves are all chasing bullpen arms but have been told no on Glen Perkins. Those clubs all are monitoring Jesse Crain's health, as he might be the best reliever available.

That's what the Royals said about Soria..... That turned out well.

While we are at it why don't we throw in Duensing so they will throw in Skaggs? I don't know who coined it on here, have seen it posted several times, but calling fan trades where they add in extra pieces to justify asking for the moon the Duensing rule is brilliant. As fans we naturally over value our own players but you have to look at both sides. The Dbacks have already come out and said they won't be trading either Bradley (best pitching prospect in baseball) or Skaggs. If those are the main guys you want from the DBacks you are going to be disappointed. I believe Perkins can bring a great package but I think my idea package is different from most of you here.

Very good story. He is such an impressive kid.

This is a huge jump. You do know the Twins are currently really bad and have been for 3 years now? Free agents aren't coming here unless you grossly over pay them which is never a good idea, especially when you are rebuilding. Reports came out this off season saying we couldn't give our money away. I rather Ryan be smart with FA signings till our younger talent is ready. Over spending on average talent at best is never a good business move.

Agreed. Nicely said.

Nailed it. Couldn't agree more.

Soria and Perkins are a pretty good comparison IMO. Top closers, all stars, and on bad teams with financially responsible contracts. Here is an article, I couldn't look dumb twice in one night so I did my homework, which talks about how the Yankees reportedly offered Jesus Montero in an offer for Soria. At the time Montero was the #4 overall prospect according to BA: Soria Wouldn't Block Trade To Yankees: MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com And here is a quote from GM Moore on why they didn't trade Soria: “We do expect to be good at some point in time,” Moore said. “And to be good, it’s important that you’re able to match up over the last three innings of the game. Joakim Soria gives us that opportunity to do that."

You areright. I don't remember why I...well remember Erlin being a top 100 guy. I do remember, and I have checked this time, that both him and Weiland were having good seasons when traded. Once again, while Adams was a solid RP he wasn't an AL, affordable contract, closer RP like Perkins.

The Rangers traded Robert Erlin and Joe Wieland for Mike Adams 2 years ago. While neither were top 50 guys, Erlin made several top 100 lists and Weiland was moving up fast.They were both advanced, young pitchers having good years. Oh, and while Adams was a good pitcher he wasn't a closer....or pitching in the American league....or pitching in a stadium that is not the most pitcher friendly in baseball. Also, while Soria wasn't traded their were a ton of solid offers with top 100 prospects for him before the Royals decided not to trade him. At least those were the rumors. We all know how that turned out. Will Ryan get top 100 prospects offered for Perkins? Who knows. All we know is the experts are saying that not only is the relief market weak, but a ton of teams are looking for arms.

He also had two walks!

Relief pitchers bring very little value over a full season. This is made obvious by the fact that we have a solid bullpen and are still one of the worst teams in baseball. But for playoff teams? Playoff teams live and die by a single bad inning and trusted relief arms become a premium at the trade deadline. The Twins won't make the playoffs this year. Outside of a lot of lucky breaks next year they most likely still won't make the playoffs. Realistically the hope is that by 2015, which there is no guarantee our young guys will be ready for a push, that we fight a playoff spot. The question is wasting 1 1/2, possibly more, of Perkins effective years worth it?

None that has been reported on. There is a slim chance, very slim, they signed a late rounder for $100k

Have you read the fan graph, Onley, and/or Schoenfield articles that have been posted on here several times? I ask because they not only answer your question about a bidding war but about why closers (elite bull pen arms) are worth trading at their highest value. Bull pen arms are volatile. Even the best ones.

One more note from Baseball Prospectus' Doug Thorburn: What do you think of Kyle Gibson? Doug Thorburn: Not bad, but some room for improvement. I like that he starts with some flex in the knees, but he also tends to hunch over a bit in the early phases of his delivery, and it looks like he could use some more functional strength to help stabilize balance. He is a low momentum guy with a short stride, and though he repeats it pretty well, I think that he could benefit from a stronger burst to the plate.

We aren't the only ones excited about next years draft. During BA's Jim Callis' weekly he chat he was asked this: Will Trea Turner, be the number one pick next year because teams think he can play short? Jim Callis: Should definitely be in the mix.

Keith Law's weekly chat: If you had to pick one player to watch at the Futures Game--could be someone you have already seen or yet to look at (if there is anyone you haven't seen)--who would it be? Klaw (1:14 PM) Buxton. So any GM whose team is on pace for 90+ losses would be in some jeopardy? The Twins are looking to be on track for Year #3 and there are no mentions of Terry Ryan being on a hot seat (though he did walk into it somewhat). Are the Twins so loyal and locked into their plan with their admittedly strong farm system that TR, despite poor major league level decision-making, is in no trouble? Klaw (2:13 PM) He took over a bad team. Different story. And things are looking up there as they are in Houston. Not much Twins love from Law this week in the chat but here are two additional notes from him future games best tools preview: Best power: Minnesota's Miguel Sano is one of the minors' best hitting prospects, with huge in-game power, but if we're just talking raw power, he has competition from Rangers prospect Joey Gallo, who is tied for the Sally League (low Class A) lead in home runs but is one behind the league leader (teammate Lewis Brinson) in strikeouts. Best speed: Billy Hamilton of the Reds wins this yet again, but it's not quite a landslide with Minnesota'sByron Buxton, also an 80 runner but just a shade slower than Hamilton, in the same outfield this year. Houston second baseman Delino DeShields Jr. rounds out the top three. Link to full article (insider):http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/keith-law/post/_/id/961/best-tools-in-the-futures-game Baseball America's Matt Eddy prospect hot sheet chat: Who are you most excited about seeing at the futures game? Matt Eddy: I would have to say the prospects with the freak 70-80 tools: Joey Gallo's power, Christian Bethancourt's arm, Miguel Sano's power, Archie Bradley's fastball, etc. I also have soft spots for more well-rounded prospects like Francisco Lindor and Christian Yelich, and seeing the low-level arms is always a highlight—guys like Taylor Guerrieri, Noah Syndergaard (just four starts at Double-A), Miguel Almonte, Rafael De Paula, Kyle Crick, etc. No Twins made it on the weekly hot sheet so not many questions about them. Two did make it to the daily prospect notebook. Here is what they had to say: Chris Colabello, 1b/rf, Twins: The last two years of Colabello’s career have been a payoff for the previous seven. After spending seven years dominating the independent Can-Am League, he finally got his shot at affiliated ball with a contract to join the Twins in 2012. Since then, he’s starred for Team Italy in the World Baseball Classic and made his big league debut. Along the way, he’s put together one of the best seasons in the minors this year. Playing at Triple-A Rochester, Colabello leads all minor leaguers with a 1.091 OPS, and he hit his 23rd home run of the season and his second in two nights on Wednesday. If he doesn’t get called back up to majors, Colabello has a shot at winning both the traditional and new-school (batting average, on-base percentage, slugging) International League triple crowns. With a .357 average, Colabello leads the IL by nearly 20 points. The only two IL hitters within 100 points of his league-leading .656 slugging percentage are both currently playing in the big leagues. He’s also second in the league in OBP (.435) and second in home runs, two behind league leader Mauro Gomez. Colabello also leads the league with 72 RBIs. Eddie Rosario, 2b, Twins: It’s easy to get caught up in what Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano are doing. The Twins have the No. 1 and No. 3 prospects in baseball, two players with very different skill sets but both possessing superstar potential. Then there is Rosario, who is more steady than flashy but is still one of the game’s elite second base prospects. After a big weekend, Rosario is hitting .284/.357/.432 through 23 games for Double-A New Britain, showing the hitting instincts and barrel awareness that should allow him to become an offensive-oriented second baseman in Minnesota within the next couple of years.

BaseballAmerica had 3 prospect chats this week while Keith law had one. Here are the Twins questions and answers: J.J. Cooper's Mid season prospect top 50 update chat: If you had to pick one minor league team to watch for a week, which would it be? And how about if you had to pick just one minor league player? J.J. Cooper: I thankfully got to pick and do it. Watching Cedar Rapids vs. Kane County and Quad Cities in a four-day span before Buxton was promoted was about as close to prospect heaven as I can imagine in 2013–Buxton, Almora, Vogelbach, McCullers, Ruiz, Correa and many more. If you can pick one player to watch, go see Byron Buxton play in Fort Myers. Who has more top of the rotation ceiling for the Twins, Berrios or Meyer? J.J. Cooper: Meyer. Theory: Correa is underrated because of Buxton's explosion. He's the youngest hitter in his league, 9-10 months younger than Buxton, and has been better statistically than just about everybody else. If Buxton hadn't (rightly) grabbed everyone's attention right away, they'd be fawning like crazy over Correa. J.J. Cooper: He’s ranked as the No. 9 prospect in all of baseball right now. Of the guys ahead of him, only two are not playing in Double-A or above. That’s really, really, really good. I’m not sure how underrated a guy who’s currently a top 10 prospect can be. What are the chances that Sano is able to stick at 3b? J.J. Cooper: I think very good. Scouts who have seen him this year say they think the questions about him sticking there are very overblown. He may eventually outgrow the position, but that could be years from now. Max Kepler a top-100 guy in 2014? He's a forgotten guy in the Twins' system. J.J. Cooper: He’s making a pretty strong case for it right now. He’s not forgotten, but yes, it’s hard to be too noticed when you missed half the season with injuries and are playing in the same org as Buxton and Sano. Jim Callis weekly chat: Do you think the Twins have any chance to sign Logan Shore? Thanks for taking my question! Jim Callis: None. I believe they really like Shore but they ran out of money. With the way Buxton has blown up this year is it officially time for major league front offices to realize that there is no draft strategy as good as "take the best talent available"? I've seen both the Quad Cities and Cedar Rapids play this year (before Buxton's promotion) and there's no way you'd trade Buxton, Luke Bard and Zach Jones for the Correa, McCullers & Ruiz package we've heard so much about. Correa looked good, but Buxton was breathtaking. You'd think teams would have learned by now that trying to save money at the top of the draft is a good way to look like an idiot. Jim Callis: Correa was a legitimate No. 1 overall pick and is one of the best prospects in baseball … but Buxton is the best. And though Astros don’t want to believe me, the team could have had Buxton and McCullers (just not enough money left over for Ruiz). All that said, Correa is no slouch. Franco and Sano have similar #'s. But Franco's #'s are better. Both are 20 years old but Franco is a legit 20(as you know Sano had an inconclusive investigation). Franco also profiles at least as an average defender at 3b where sank may require a move. How does sano rank 3rd in your mid season list and Franco miss the top 50? Jim Callis: Think J.J. Cooper covered this exhaustively on Twitter the other day, but here’s the short answer: 1) Sano has MUCH more power and is the best power hitter in the minors and 2) there are concerns about how well Franco’s swing will play in the big leagues. But also realize that Franco would have made the Top 100 if we went that deep and there’s no shame in not making the Top 50. Franco is very good but Sano is better. Even though he's struggled a bit with the adjustment to AA pitching, do you see mid-2014 as a realistic date for Miguel Sano to arrive in Minnesota? Jim Callis: Yes.

With multiple elite SS and front of the line pitching prospects I believe the Twins would sit pretty any where in the top (bottom) 5-7 spots.

While he could be, which would still be a waste on a below .500 team, the odds are stacked way against him. Buster Olneys' article, Dave schoenfields article, and the fan graph article show those guys are rare. The RPing market is thin this year and if the Twins float Perkins out there he would definitely be the best arm available.

The bigleaguefutures and Kiley McDaniel links I posted have videos.

Looking for a big, college, LHP sleeper top 10 guy who has 97? Kiley McDaniel's mentions Hartford's Sean Newcomb as this years Sean Manaea: "The big name newcomer to the top of the list is Hartford lefty Sean Newcomb. Similar to Indiana State LHP Sean Manaea's rise last year, multiple sources have predicted Newcomb will have a coming-out party this summer with Team USA, with one scout saying he thinks Newcomb will go in the top 10 picks next June. Why are they so sure? The 6'5, 240 pound lefty hit 95 last summer in a very short stint on the Cape and has hit 97 this spring with comparisons to Jon Lester, if you're into that sort of thing. His upside is right there with Rodon and if he can show it with positive results over the summer, he could easily enter the spring as my top college pitcher, which is exactly what Manaea did before his current troubles."