TopGunn#22

Was there no draft before 1989 that was worth considering?? The Twins won a lot of games since their inception in 1961. There was NOTHING worthy of considering before 1989?? The draft as it's structured now, began in 1965.

Very happy the bat seems to be coming along for Houston. I agree with Herbie fan...Once Houston makes it to the Twins, he will be a joy to watch play SS. A weekly highlight reel.

I think Austin Martin is a tremendous example of sometimes just letting a player be who he is, instead of trying to marginally improve their power or launch angle. From the moment we acquired him as part of the Jose Berrios trade, there was concern he didn't have the proper "power profile" of the "modern ballplayer." In some ways, the Twins have come full circle. Remember how we needed David Ortiz to use more of the field rather than being so pull happy? Remember how that turned out...?? What we are seeing of Martin now is a player who uses the whole field but is much more confident with his swing. With his speed and base running ability, as long as he keeps getting on base at a high clip he's fine as a #1 or #2 hitter or a #8 or #9 hitter. And this is really what Luke Keaschall should be as well. Could Keaschall be pressing to hit with more power when all he should really be doing is concentrating on barreling up balls and let the power play as it does? I think so. And this leads me to Marek Houston. With a glove like his, if Houston as a hitter just hits .270-.280 with a .360-.380 OBP (kind of an Ernie Clement with multiple Platinum Gloves) that's all he needs to be to be a tremendous success. You should always try to improve players. But sometimes, you've just got to accept who they are and magnify their strengths and minimize their weaknesses to get the best version of them. The Twins rightfully never tried to make Rod Carew a 20 HR guy.

I will agree the op could have had more "depth" to it, and bean5302's chart says more than the op itself did. But there was a time that the Twins were one of the top teams in MLB with Latin players in the 1960's. I was a Tony Oliva guy. He was my favorite player on the Twins, but when Rod Carew came along Tony-O got some serious competition. Both were Rookies of the Year. Tony-O EXPLODED onto the scene with back-to-back A.L. Batting Titles. Rod was a little more quiet, but once he won his first A.L. Batting Title in 1969 he made his case for "Greatest Twin Ever." I would like to see the Twins do better in Latin America. We don't seem to want to compete for Japanese stars. But as someone else put it, you just can't take a snapshot and call it a major failure. In the near future the Twins could have E-Rod, Gabe Gonzalez, Noah Cardenas, Eduardo Tait, Mendez, Jimenez, Olivar and any number of others already listed as well, up with the team.

Bowden's rumor could be nothing but "Hot Air" but it's undeniable that the Red Sox offense is a mess right now and neither Durbin or rookie Marcelo Meyer is getting the job done at 3B. Consider this, with the "somewhat encouraging" start Lewis had before his injury, his value on BBTV had been 18.8, then 19.4, then 25.7 and now it's at 30.3. That's NOT selling low. And as someone else stated, if Lewis comes back and starts hitting his value will rise even higher. But he will probably just get hurt again. Look, Brooks Lee is NOT a Major League SS but could possibly be functional as a 2B or 3B. If it were up to me, I'd trade him once I'd gotten a look at Culpepper and if Marek Houston showed continued promise with the bat. Houston is our future SS anyway because the glove is Elite. I think Houston will be just fine if the Twins let him be "Austin Martin" and not expect Emmanuel Rodriguez. I like what Martin is giving the Twins right now. The Blue Jays aren't expecting Ernie Clement to be a 15 HR guy. bean made the point that the Red Sox probably don't want to give us anything to get Lewis. Well of course they don't. They wanted to steal Joe Ryan as well and it cost them at the deadline and in the post season. The Red Sox offense is a mess right now because they can't get guys consistent AB's. They have 4 good OF's and Yoshida and they're having a devil of a time trying to fit 5 guys into 4 slots. Things are going well for the Twins right now, but I don't expect it to last. This team has work to do come the trade deadline and our roster construction is still grossly uneven. Lewis currently has a value of 30.3. Jarren Duran has seen his once lofty 50.0 value crater to 31.0. How about Lewis for Duran? This would break up the Red Sox log jam in the outfield and give them a potentially big bat at 3B, filling the hole left by Bregman. Duran moves into the Twins OF in place of Wallner and goes to the top of the order. This would be the first of many moves the Twins will be making before or at the trade deadline. Ryan, Buxton, Jeffers, Larnach, Ober, Wallner could ALL be moved. Brooks Lee very could as well depending on what we get in return. Others like SWR or Josh Bell could be deadline moves. The Twins aren't going to look anything like this current team come baseball in 2027, whenever that happens. Ryan Jeffers is swinging a hot bat. The Red Sox need a Catcher as well. Maybe a bigger deal happens later with Jeffers and Joe Ryan, but I'd make a Lewis for Jarren Duran deal as soon as Lewis comes off the I.L. and move Lee to 3B with Culpepper at SS.

I get where you're coming from bean5302, but pitching out of the bullpen this season doesn't mean it's a permanent exile from the rotation. Guys like Zebby, and Festa (if he can EVER stay healthy) are getting closer to pitching themselves OUT of a future rotation, so in some respects, it's a fluid situation. I think BOTH Prielipp and Rojas have a strong chance to be part of a future Twins rotation, and those chances increase if Joe Ryan is traded at the deadline (depending on whether a young SP is part of the deal). For a team bereft of LH SP for so many seasons, the Twins could have Dasan Hill along with Prielipp and Rojas in a future rotation. Wouldn't THAT be something. But I, for one, wouldn't mind seeing Prielipp and Rojas get innings in the big leagues this season, even if the Twins break them in gradually by pitching out of the pen.

This is just a baffling mystery. I agree with the idea that he doesn't need MORE pitches. He needs better command of his pitches, and that usually comes down to working on fewer pitches to improve his command of 3 or 4 offerings. Dasan Hill is lurking. Moving Zebby to the BP now doesn't need to be permanent. But it may be needed to narrow his array of pitches into refining 2-3 that he can actually command.

It's April 13th and Outman is still hitless on the season. Fedko going nearly 30-30 last year has to count for SOMETHING. It's just time to cut the cord on Outman. Why not give Fedko a shot and see what he does with it? This provides additional time for E-Rod and Walker Jenkins as well as Gabe Gonzalez to continue to work on things at St. Paul. Outman is doing NOTHING for the Twins. Fedko at least has some positional versatility and gives the Twins a power/speed option in a platoon or off the bench. Come to think of it, now would be a good time to revisit Trevor Larnach trade possibilities.

Luke Keaschall.

I agree 100% that it's time to play Winokur in the OF...exclusively. When you have a player his size and speed who has gotten as many reps at SS as he has, it's hard not to put him in the upper, upper echelon of "athletes" in the Twins minor leagues. But when you play on the same team as Marek Houston, realistically, how many reps can you expect to get at SS ?? And unfortunately, that goes for DeAndrade. I agree with those who are also somewhat baffled by his sliding standing in the Twins prospect rankings. For him, it really comes down to health. I believe that if DeAndrade stays healthy in 2026, he will put together a season that will see him move UP the rankings of prospects. Dasan Hill is probably the #1 guy NOT named Walker Jenkins I'll be looking at. But I will be interested in checking up on a number of guys on this team and anticipating a promotion if things go well. Houston, Tait, Winokur, Diaw and DeAndrade all merit attention. Depending on who the Twins pick at #3 in the Amateur Draft (another SS?) that guy could find himself on this team at some point in 2026.

If I were the Twins, I'd very much want to lock Jenkins up pre-debut, even with the nightmare of what has become of Royce Lewis, a former #1 overall pick. Scott Boras is a unique agent. He has a philosophy of wanting to get his client to FA, even if a good deal is on the table. Exhibit "A" is Ryan Jeffers. There is often talk on TD about what an above average hitter Jeffers is for a Catcher, but in reality, he's average. No where near "elite." Add to that his below average all around catching skills and I'm left wondering why Boras didn't initiate extension talks with the Twins. We all know there is no way Jeffers is in a Twins uniform after this season. The best we can hope for is some kind of value in a deadline deal, but the Twins have little leverage with Jeffers at this point. The Brewers have been fairly aggressive in trying to buy out FA with young stars. But frankly, rather than Cooper Pratt getting the deal he did, the guy I thought the Brewers would have locked up was 18-year old SS Jesus Made. Pratt is a "more advanced hit tool" version of Marek Houston. Pratt's defensive skill at SS is top shelf. But he's baseball's #62 rated prospect beginning this season at AAA. Made is baseball's #3 (THREE !!!) overall prospect with a switch-hitting hit tool that is tremendous. Made has the ability to stay at SS, but with a glove like Pratt, could find himself at 3B. A 2027 Brewer infield with Made at 3B, Pratt at SS and a Gold Glove 2B like Brice Turang is something Brewer fans can really get excited about. I think the Twins should be talking with Scott Boras about a Walker Jenkins contract. But does Boras have any desire to take the phone call?

I agree JD-Twins. The current status is the logical path to follow until guys either claim their spot or fumble it away through ineffectiveness. While Taylor Rogers is the "most qualified" to be our Closer, he hasn't really had that role for quite some time. Even if Festa was healthy, (and Pablo Lopez was healthy and at the top of the Twins rotation) Festa would still be pitching in the 7th inning of so until he had proved he could be effective. With Lopez out for the season, Festa may be considered as a possible rotation arm, depending on rotation pitchers health and effectiveness. We had all assumed Festa would spend this season in the bullpen. That doesn't seem a lock anymore. This scattered approach will probably continue throughout this season.

It's hard to argue with a single point Cody made as well as many of the comments. This is the big disappointment in the Twins "brain-trust" and front office. Roster construction is always a challenge, but the Twins have elevated it to an Olympic Event and it's just baffling how they come up with some of these decisions.

If velocity and command were clearly lacking this was an obvious decision for Hendricks and Chafin. And it's something that is unlikely to suddenly turn around for these aging veterans. "Smart" GM's and organizations usually trade guys like this away before it's obvious to the rest of the league they've got nothing left in the tank. With Chafin and Hendricks this was evident. With guys like Larnach and Ober, it's even MORE obvious. I'm not going to delude myself that something "remarkable" is happening to the Twins ownership/brain trust. I'm not against scooping up a Hendricks or Chafin to see whether or not they have anything left. Every MLB team (except maybe the Dodgers) should try to find a diamond in the rough. But with the Hendricks/Chafin play having failed, I think the Twins should be looking at a Kopech move to shore up the BP and at least have someone other than Taylor Rogers that has some closing experience. We're on the doorstep of the season and a relief pitcher with proven effectiveness, albeit shaky health is still unsigned. It sounds like a 2-year contract for $13 million would get it done, The Brewers are scuffling through multiple SP injuries to begin this season. Might they be interested in Bailey Ober? Trading Ober would see Zebby Matthews take the #5 spot in the rotation. To me, finding out what all these young SP's can do in 2026 is more important than supposedly "competing for a playoff spot." What exactly IS our payroll at right now? What wiggle room do we actually have? If Ober and Larnach were traded, shedding salary and allowing younger players a spot on the team could Kopech be added at no additional cost? It seems that would be a good strategy. Unfortunately, Larnach hasn't hit his weight in spring training and Ober's velocity is quite concerning.

I'm in favor of dropping Kreidler from the 40 man AND cutting Arcia. Neither does much for me. Waiver wire or trade is a better option. Both Outman and Roden played well enough to have earned a spot on the team. Trade one of them to a team that needs an OF and who has a SS who is an obvious upgrade from Arcia/Kreidler. (that bar is NOT very high). I realize we have SS prospects in Culpepper and Houston and will probably draft another one with our first pick in the draft. But Lee's glove isn't up to SS standards and we need a better option.