Jocko87

I’m not in favor of outright firing Popkins. He obviously has a talent that got him this position at 33 and you should never fire someone you over promoted and hung out to dry. It’s a great way to create a toxic environment and if you believed in the talent you would still want to develop it. Frankly we should not be surprised that major league pitching is out thinking him. I’m assuming he has tremendous promise but it does need development. My read is that he is probably very good technically but can’t possibly be major league good at strategy, adjustments or communication which is where the struggles are. The hitting result feels very much like information overload, too much thinking when milliseconds matter. I’ve suggested a few times bring Molly or Cruz in as a special assistant. It would be a great match of new and old school and filter the information to a concise message that can be executed on. It also allows the Twins to make a tacit admission of a mistake without throwing out the bath water. This type of thing happens with young executives all the time. There are entire industries around developing leaders. Even very successful CEO types have personal coaches. It’s just a shame the Twins put him in a situation he couldn’t possibly be ready for. Honestly I would suggest developing him is one of Rocco’s jobs but I’m reliably informed he just fills out line up cards.🙄 Interestingly as well, Rocco may not realize that is his role. He’s not much higher on the experience scale than Popkins. When he ranted about not making adjustments all I can hear is that he is responsible for making sure the adjustments are being made. To answer the question related to the former Yankees guy. No. Same thing. The voice needed is old school.

Working out great for Torkelson I’d say. A .656 OPS and negative WAR in almost 200 ML games isn’t exactly an example to emulate. He may still be good and he was dominant in the low minors as you would expect a college player to be but his time in the minors was not injury interrupted either. He also plays the easiest position on the field. He probably wouldn’t be up except for being a Tiger. What I’m saying is that if they screw with Royce too much he will end up Torkelson. Or Tim Beckham. Or Delmon Young.

To carry on the analogy, Donald Rumsfeld never met a defense contractor he wouldn't buy something from. It would be a terrible General that wouldn't implement a new weapon if it became available.

Goldy in a landslide. Arenado might be cheaper though considering the contracts. It’s a lot of money.

It’s not exactly a common situation. 38 games isn’t quite forever. I’d be fine if the transition to CF started this offseason but we would still have to recognize its a big ask. Ask Jazz Chisholm and Fernando Tatis Jr. They were already established as hitters at least.

Agreed but it’s an example of his experience curve being short circuited. I would wager that he has the least game experience of any 24yo former #1 overall and it matters. I would argue the awkward running on the ACL is the same thing. It could happen at anytime but we have to minimize those situations at the ML level. It’s the whole reason the minor leagues exist.

Lost in all the back and forth of this we seem to be forgetting the most important part. Staying on the infield is the smart thing to do and they are doing it. Period. End of story. It may be that he goes to the outfield eventually. It would be dumb to do it mid-season, barely back from rehab. He's not superman. Remember the 40 odd games played total in 3-4 years or whatever it is? He is already making minor league adjustments in the major leagues, at a new position and his head has to be swimming. Adding another position change to the mix would be borderline malpractice. The play were he lands on his face was purely an experience related mistake. Yes, it was a horrible play by an inexperienced first baseman but the contact could have been minimized. Next time we won't be so lucky. Its not a video game. Boras says nothing out of line here and everyone is doing the thing in the best interests of all involved. The short term lineup flexibility is nothing compared to the long term development of a #1 overall pick.

I watched a bunch of Cardinals games when I lived in Illinois, he is only behind Buxton in players fun to watch play defense for me. It's spectacular in person, so easy for him. The middling prospect here with Miranda is Julien and I would do that in a second. Get them to throw a couple youngsters somewhere to balance it out. Lewis plays 2nd as Polo comes and goes and bounces around the infield. CF maybe next year but I don't like moving him mid-season. All of a sudden that infield defense will be what we expected the outfield to be. Contract is reasonable, but how do the deferred payments work for the years not yet incurred? Assuming they come with for the remainder of the years unless negotiated?

In a land where left handed hitting corner outfielders seem to grow on trees I’m not the biggest fan of spending this much capital on a common good, unless you can get ahold of a superstar. Here’s to hoping he can fulfill the potential. That said, I’d have made the same pick and am very glad nobody got cute. I really like what I’m reading and hearing about him so far, especially universal 80 grade makeup. Seems like the Twins were on him all along, with Cuddyer help. Also, sounds like a very advanced, unTwinslike approach at the plate.

But it is something the system needs…a solid bat with am iffy glove that they can polish and flip for an actual current need. (Assessments of current needs may vary). I’d expect several more of these middle infielder types tomorrow. These aren’t the old draft and develop eryone Twins anymore. We are drafting assets now.

Jay Monahan would like a word.

I'm traveling so I can't transpose but I'm listening on xm. They have quote snippets and after hearing his I'm in love. Not exact quotes but I'll get close. 1. My power doesn't come from swinging hard, it's comes from being a quality hitter, short to the ball and hitting lots of barrels. 2. I'm only getting stronger and quicker as I develop so I'm doing everything I can to stay in center. I'll try and pull a clip when I get home. Doubt he play center long term but if he can function there when he's young that would be fantastic.

See, the thing about satire is

Is it you? At first I thought your name was Joyless Hopkins.

Ermagahd J. R.! Is that Scott Boras' music? Yer damn right it is! The talent is all on display, with 5 potential #1 types the agents will set the order I'm afraid. Still no way Skenes or Crews falls to 5 but it will be interesting.

I agree with ignoring organizational need when drafting a high schooler. 4 years is a long time. However, If we were in the 2 hole of this draft facing a choice of Skenes and Langford, organizational needs does come into play between the two. You could also argue for each as the higher need so in this case it’s back to BPA, risk tolerance etc. That pick profiles as 18 months away and is instantly in the plans.

Julien in the 18th round and CES in the 4th both had potential positional flexibility at the time. In the first round your power bat better play solid defense somewhere other than 1st base or you are committed to the bat having to be a monster to play out. Wallner is the Jenkins mold, he can play outfield but probably no gold gloves. Sabato was a 1B/DH only. I can't spend that much draft capital on a narrow success window. I would agree on toolsy high schoolers though, draft or signing. Cavaco may still have a bit of trade value down the road but he also could have been Elly de La Cruz. Lottery tickets have to have upside. Sabato always had limited upside.

The 25 yo 1B DH type is so so so far much farther down the board for me than a lefty outfielder it not even the same league. I'd avoid Teel at all costs, just because you don't know he can stick at catcher. If he doesn't, then what do you have?

As reticent as I am to take lefty outfielders early this seems the most likey scenerio. I would prefer him over Jenkins just for the ability to play center field. A call back to the toolsy HS outfielder days of the past but not a bad outcome if that's the way the board falls. It bears repeating, just don't get cute here.

OK, I've been trying to find that for a while but they keep it pretty quiet. I know these "advisors" have been working deals for months.

If the analytics would have had this pitching result is would’ve predicted 92 wins. If it had this hitting result it would’ve predicted 72 wins. Just because it might have the right answer at the end doesn’t make the process good. Not unlike a manager, now that I think about it.

I clicked on this article expecting some statistical analysis and comparisons to see maybe how far off he was. Oops. I knew better. William is completely correct here. No hitter is close. No pitcher is an obvious choice and we can’t use full staff rankings to make a case for an individual honor. There are several pitchers who are performing very well but the reality is that success of the staff is driven by solid performances across the board rather than a few standouts. This team doesn’t really have an all star on the roster this year. It is very similar to the Coomer days but with a first place team it should be a wake up call to everyone. The performance sucks and the league doesn’t respect them. Just like the Coomer days. The difference is the talent is there.

The crazy thing about baseball is that energy comes after results, not usually the other way around. In a long season the rah rah only goes so far. We saw a good example with the Braves. They have energy and attitude but it has been built over a long period of good at bats and good offense. You can't rah rah yourselves into good at bats.

Getting one in Atlanta would have truly been stealing a game.

Tumba Vacas loosely translates to cow tipping. Quite the creative marketing department.