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I can't disagree more. People do remember that hicks is just 23 right? That after starting the year horrid, which anyone who followed hicks minor league career would have known was going to happen, started to play a lot better before getting injured? That he only has ~200 big league at bats? Young players need at bats. Not to be platooned which limits his at bats.

Easy fix. 1. Lose a bunch of games. 2.Draft N.C. States Trea Turner. 3. Have Turner and Buxton, both 80 speed guys, hit 1/2 in your line up. 4. Drink a celebratory beer. 5. Be happy.

I remember seeing that too.

Bogaerts is considered a top 5 prospect. Right there with Sano and Buxton. Throwing in Morny isn't going to help at all. Would you trade Buxton or Sano straight up for Perkins/half a season of Morny? Much less adding another top arm.

Bogaerts and Barnes? Hanson and Tallion? I know it is Friday but maybe people should wait a little bit to start drinking. Mike nailed it earlier. Closers are overrated and only throw 60-70 innings a year. No idea why people think we can get several top 50 specs for Perkins.

Based teams need to listen to any and all offers. Especially if people want to over pay for a relief pitcher.

When did major league talent become so proven? Capps, Liriano, Mauer, Morny, Willingham, and every other big leaguer not named Mcab or Pujols has up and down years. While prospects do have a high bust rate and don't always make it to bigs they are at least cheap. How often do we see players fade after signing a big contract which cripples a team financially? The answer is a lot. While I agree comparing the Royals "historic" group of prospects a few years ago to the Twins current group is a good cautionary tale but let's not kid ourselves that the Royals problems has only come from specs not working out. Their front office has made just as many, if not more, bad calls with big league signings. The Twins are not the Royals.

Slegers got 380k which is 29,500k over the 350,500 slot allotment. There goes the Twins extra money. Seems odd that Slegers got over slot.....maybe that's just me.

J.J. Cooper over at BA did a Futures Game Roster Chat and he gave the Twins A LOT of love: JJ, if we said in 5 years, the best hitter and pitcher in baseball will be participating in this years futures game, who would you be betting on? For fun, you can bet on more than 1 at each position... J.J. Cooper: If you follow me on Twitter (@jjcoop36) I think you would be stunned if I answered anyone other than Byron Buxton for the hitter. As far as pitcher, I’d go with Archie Bradley. Who are you most excited to see play? J.J. Cooper: Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano. Buxton because he seems to something amazing about every other game he plays. Sano because I expect his batting practice may cause problems for jets in the landing pattern at nearby LaGuardia. Is Puerto Rico considered part of the US or World?Eddie Rosario any consideration to be a second baseman at the futures game? J.J. Cooper: For Futures Game purposes it’s part of the World Team, which makes sense when you consider that Puerto Rico fields its own team in the World Baseball Classic. Rosario would have been a very good fit at second base, but I’m glad he’s not there. Nothing against Rosario, but only two Twins can go and I can’t wait to see Buxton and Sano. J.J., big fan of your work. I know this may be a touchy subject, but I kind of am weary of the comps to Buxton. Everyone that I read has him compared to McCutchen, B.J. Upton, Justin Upton, or Matt Kemp. Of course, I could be wrong and those are the most apt comparisons for him, but I can't help but think something is a little off there. Thanks for the chat J.J. J.J. Cooper: Michael, our feature on Buxton will be going up at Baseball America tomorrow. We don’t comp him to any of those guys, but we do ask scouts to compare him to Mike Trout, since Trout was the last Cedar Rapids outfielder to play similarly to this. I can see McCutchen comps and I’ve heard that, but as far as his style of play, neither Upton fits, as Buxton’s approach is WAY more advanced at the plate at a similar age. What are the latest reports on defense for Maikel Franco and Miguel Sano? Who's more likely to stick at 3B? J.J. Cooper: I’ve gotten pretty decent reports on Sano sticking at third base from scouts who’ve seen him this year. I think he’s more likely to play third base for a couple of years in the big leagues than not. If you can't tell J.J. Cooper sort of likes Buxton.

I completely agree. You don't have to get a player from the "expert" proclaimed top tier of talent to get a great player. Your examples definitely prove that. The one thing I will say is that the higher the pick the greater chance of big league success. BA actually did a study right before this last draft showing that the higher the pick the better chance of big league success. Which shouldn't come as a shock to anyone.

I guess some people took what I wrote wrong. I wasn't suggesting the Twins should tank. I'm not saying the Twins should purposefully try to throw games. All I was trying to do is show that with losing, rebuilding, there is value in having a few extra L. While tanking and rebuilding have some similarities, they are not the same thing.

Why does that matter? 18 year old kids who are uber athletic, perfect pitching frame, already has 2 plus level pitches, and has two more average pitches don't grow on trees. As I say this #37 does sound a bit high. I figured he would slot into the 50-60 range.

Once again, every team in all sports have gone through slumps. I was just saying the Royals/Pirates are a very over exaggerated comparison to the Twins. While prospects are volatile but aren't 90% big leaguers too?

It didn't take the Rays or Nationals very long. Every team in baseball has gone through a rebuilding phase. Yes, even the stankyees. When talking about rebuilding around here pointing to the Royals/Pirates has become very popular. Just like how I pointed at the Rays and Nationals. In reality one has nothing to do with each other. Each team rebuilds differently.

Woot woot.

I'm pretty sure the Phillies have mentioned several times they don't plan to trade any of their starters. Why? I don't know. While the idea of trading from our deep farm system for big league pitchers is a great idea I think it is too early to do so. The Twins still look like a sub .500 team. This should be a strategy used in the upcoming years once some of our current talent is up and adjusted. Also, due to the lack of good pitching on the market better teams are going to overpay to try to push them over the top. We don't fit that bill.

The Twins went 63-99 in 2011 and ended up with the 2nd overall pick. In 2012 they went 66-96 and ended up with the 4th overall pick. Currently the Twins are 34-38 and if the regular season ended today they would have the 11th overall pick. Improvement right? Not so fast. In 2012 the top tier of the draft was considered 6-8 deep (depending on the expert). With the number 2 overall pick the Twins were guaranteed to get a player in that tier. The Astros skipped on Buxton (considered the top player in the draft) and took Carlos Correa to save money to spend else where. Buxton is considered a top 5 prospect with some experts ranking him #1. In the recent 2013 draft the top tier of the draft was considered 3 deep. With the number 4 overall pick the Twins were not guaranteed a top tier player and ended up not getting one. While Stewart is a hell of a consultation prize how much value did the Twins miss out on because of winning two extra games? With the third overall pick the Rockies took Jonathan Gray who was considered the top talent in the draft according to some experts. A big college RHP who can hit 100 on radar guns and should get to the bigs pretty fast. Grays time line lines up well with our current minor league talent. Also, while Stewart signed at slot Gray signed for 826k under slot which can go a long ways with the new draft rules. There is a long way to go tell the 2014 draft but the draft is shaping up to be one of the strongest class. Some experts expect the top tier to be 7-9 deep, which would put the Twins outside of that window two years in a row. Last year the Twins held onto their trade able assets at the deadline because they didn't get an offer they wanted. Free agency is young but if that happens again this year it might cement their draft position. Losing is losing and finishing under .500 is under .500. My question for you is; Is winning a few extra games worth it in the long run for the franchise?

I gotcha. I read it differently but I think you are right.

Why would slegers get more?

Turner is a beast. Like Buxton, he has true 80 speed. A turner/Buxton 1/2 punch would be insane.

First Hicks, then Arcia, and now Gibson. Even if the Twins don't break .500 this year I'm excited to watch these three. Go Twins!

Sell high and buy low.

Top bats: Cano, Ellsbury, Shoo, Pence, Beltran, McCann, Granderson, Cruz. All the top bat at positions we don't need, out side of Cano, who we won't sign. Top pitchers: Kuroda (39), Burrnet (37), Garza (Twins traded away), Lincy (who might be done as a starter), Josh Johnson (always injured), Halladay (old, injured, and has looked horrid when healthy), Nolasco These are the top guys unless I'm missing someone. Doesn't look that great to me. Even if the Twins did like one of them would the player be willing to come to Minnesota?

Have you seen next years free agents? I hope they don't spend that much on them. The group is horrid outside of Cano.

People have come out and said Buxton was #1 on the Twins board.