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kab21

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Everything posted by kab21

  1. kab21
    60+M for an unproven player with very mixed scouting reports. They only say that he will hit for power. He carries no other value and could easily be a .220/.300/.450 hitter. I would rather focus on proven MLB players at that point. Cespedes has done very well but he carried huge risk when signed. In addition many on here or at BYTO were against this only because the Twins were deep in the OF. IIRC I neither liked nor disliked the idea of signing him. He carried upside and was younger. This was the same offseason that the Twins signed Willingham (ironically an Oakland FA). Soler. I absolutely agreed with going after him but again the overwhelming argument against was that the Twins didn't NEED OF'ers. I also like Diaz and Guerrero for the price of their current deals despite that the Twins don't need a 2Bman. The scouting reports also said that Alexei Ramirez might not stick at SS (CF) when he came to the US. What the recurring theme here? Most of the arguments against individual players has little do with value but rather that the Twins NEED. The problem is that this list is a grand total of 3-4 players and 2 of those were signed by teams that have silly money to spend and have spent on int'l players. I'm not going to complain endlessly about a sample size this small when the Twins have a lot more scouting information on these players.
  2. kab21
    Let's consider it ironic that you show how much of a longshot the players that the Cubs won't be able to sign next offseason are. The fact is the Cubs felt they could sign more talent in one season by abusing the rules rather than in 2 seasons following the rules.
  3. kab21
    There were some rumors that comp picks and the penalties associated with this would be removed in the next CBA. I doubt anything will be reworked before this CBA is finished but there are only two more offseasons until the next CBA is negotiated. FWIW - this isn't particularly unusual that a couple of FA's haven't signed yet. The new CBA just made the names bigger since the QO is 14ish M compared to 4-6M in arbitration in the old system. There is one renegotiation that could take place since both sides give a little to get what they want. The union wants the QO gone (or at least the draft pick penalty) while the owners want an int'l draft with stiffer penalties. As currently constructed both of these are not working. There is no good reason that very good players should be unsigned right now and several teams are making a mockery of the int'l FA slotting system and lack of real penalties.
  4. kab21
    With the amount of unspent money the Twins have this should be considered a non-issue. And it's not even a lot of money. Yes, they could have brought in a Jamey Carroll type veteran for this kind of money but this sends a nice message to players (Twins and potential FA's) that the FO will take care of you.
  5. kab21
    I think it is a myth that the Twins have a logjam at #5 or too much pitching. The rotation is improved and it has some depth (primarily Gibson and a late season Meyer) but it's still pretty shaky. The problem is that other than Nolasco none of the options are rock solid. We hope that Hughes and Pelfrey will be better than last year but... We hope that Gibson will be making a case that he HAS to be promoted but... We hope that everyone will stay healthy but... We hope that Johnson, Ibarra, Darnell, etc aren't last year's Hernandez's, Walter's and Alber's but... Nolasco Hughes Pelfrey Correia Deduno - in the lead so far Correia might not be great but I wouldn't go to any great lengths to bump up the #5 starters up the rotation.
  6. kab21
    He's not a HS'er. Stats from a major college program matter. If he doesn't hit for any power this spring then his draft stock is going to drop. Note - He's only an Everth Cabrera type if he doesn't hit for power. I have consistently said in this thread that if he can project as an Ellsbury/reyes type bat then I am on board with this pick. Hitting 1 XBH in a month is not backing up that projection.
  7. kab21
    That 5-9 is going to get thinned out before opening day. I wish for the day that the Twins have so many good starters that good prospects are being blocked by them. I don't think 2014 is that year.
  8. kab21
    It's a setback but it clearly didn't deter them or the Rangers. The Yankees are publicly saying 4 months before signing even begins that they will spend 10-14M which if they actually spend should net them 6-10 of the top prospects. As it is the Cubs signed 4 of the top 30 prospects while forfeiting the next signing period when they probably would have only signed 1-2 if they played by the rules. Additionally the Cubs can still trade most of their signing allowance this year netting them even more prospects. compare this to the MLB draft where the penalties quickly escalate to losing multiple 1st rd draft picks for a similar action.
  9. kab21
    At some point elite draft prospects need to actually produce instead of relying on a scouting projection. This also isn't an debate about whether Turner is a valuable prospect to have. It's a debate about whether he should be taken at pick 5 when there are other elite prospects available. And need isn't part of the equation there. The Twins NEED potential above average or even elite players regardless of position. Getting an Everth Cabrera type should not be considered win at #5.
  10. kab21
    I will have a problem with it. If Turner doesn't hit for gap power then the Twins are taking a safe pick to help now when there are much higher upside talents in the draft. While Turner is not hitting for gap power and directly not addressing the #1 draft concern, Gatewood hasn't shown us anything new. Gatewood had raw power before the season and hitting a 500 ft HR doesn't change anything. He needs to show that he will actually be able to hit the ball instead of every once in awhile blasting one to the moon.
  11. kab21
    They made deals and acquired extra money but they didn't acquire that much extra money. It's pretty clear that the new CBA didn't include harsh enough penalties for taking this route. http://www.bleachernation.com/2013/08/14/theo-epstein-confirms-the-cubs-international-spending-approach-discusses-free-agent-spending/
  12. kab21
    Are the Cubans a decent value at all though? Start naming names of recent signings. Alex guerrero? I liked this signing since I think he can hit but since he is probably limited to 2B this board was against it simply because the Twins have Dozier and Rosario. Arrebuena, Iglesias and Hechavaria can't hit but are defensive whiz's. Pass. the 3 toolsy OF'ers from 2-3 yrs ago? I liked signing Soler but again the board (or BYTO) basically went nuts against it because the Twins have so much MiLB OF depth. Puig has taken everyone by surprise and at the time nearly everyone thought the Dodgers had way overpaid. Abreu? 60+M for an unproven 1Bman with question marks. Any pitchers? Aside from Gonzalez (Phils) they barely sounded like MLB caliber RP'ers since Chapman defected. Your complaint is exactly what I said it was. You don't care about the player as long as the Twins spend silly money to satisfy you. The Cubans that have recently come to the US haven't been great values unless they hit their upside. The one recurring theme though is that if you sign one of these cubans then you won't be able to pick a position of need. I actually think that is a poor argument to not sign a player since the important thing is to add talent to the org and worry about where to play players when you actually have too many good ones.
  13. kab21
    Having too many good players is a nice problem to have. If someone wants to focus on a problem it's the Corriea's and Pelfrey's of the rotation and not the potential Santana's. This team should be doing what it can to add potential above average players at any position they are starting average at best players (and likely below average).
  14. kab21
    In addition to that the pitcher gets to throw more innings and work on a deeper repertoire of pitches. He might develop a better 2nd pitch that he wouldn't have if he was just a reliever in the minors. I also think it's a little silly to complain that a RP'er would be fasttracking and available sooner if they were just a starter. Yes, they would move faster but most RP'ers that are drafted are still complete busts. The success rate of drafted RP'ers must be so low that it really begs the question of why bother drafting RP'ers. I was hoping that they were seeing something particular in their plethora of RP'ers that they have drafted in the last 5 years but it seems that they just liked picking college RP'ers. go find more Walkers, Rosarios and Gonsalves's in the 2nd-5th rds. Please.
  15. kab21
    This is the worst case but that still means that the remaining 7 are the first 7 picks. I have seen Gilbert typically being available in mocks so I think he's likely to be the pick if the 3 QB's are taken (assuming Mack is taken).
  16. kab21
    I actually like signing Diaz for 8M. I think that is a fair risk/reward for a prospect that is fringy top 100. The problem I have with the rest of your post is that you seem willing to spend an unlimited amount for any level of talent. As comparisons Alex Guerrero signed for 25-30M but it sounds like he's a better hitter but stuck at 2B. Arreubuenna (sp?) signed for a similar amount and isn't expected to hit at all. Spending just for the sake of spending is a poor strategy. In addition to that there is a limit to what the Cubs and Rangers can do in international FA. They blew away their budgets last but they are basically completely out except for maybe one 500K (I think smaller) signing. There are consequences (not enough) to exceeding the budget. I think it's almost hilarious how critical some are of a team that has completely changed their international focus. Before Sano it would have been completely unheard of to sign a 1M+ dominican much less sign several other 300-600K guys in one offseason. the Twins aren't the biggest spenders and never will be but they are at least in the mix in int'l FA.
  17. kab21
    That kind of explains why the Twins should be looking at De Aza. Their other options suck. They could (and probably would) throw Willy out there and Kubel at DH. Or Parmelee. Or Mastro. I can understand not wanting De Aza if you think those guys are good options but let's not be concerned about blocking prospects that might not even arrive this year when there are multiple positions that have fringe MLB'ers starting on opening day.
  18. kab21
    DH - Willy LF - Presley CF - De Aza RF - Arcia I don't think Hicks is even being given the chance to win a position this spring. Maybe at midseason Hicks could play CF but he is a far better CF'er than De Aza even if it wastes his arm.
  19. kab21
    If we're talking about slap hitter like Ben Revere then no. If we're talking about a hitter that can hit .285, take a walk, drive the ball into the gaps and hit 10 HR's (think ellsbury) then absolutely yes. The other issue is that neither Turner nor Gordon are elite fielders. They are both projected to stay at SS and have very good defensive tools but that describes many MLB SS's and most utility guys.
  20. kab21
    At that point somebody has to fall. Most likely a QB, Gilbert and a tackle. 9 players likely to be picked before the Vikes or high on their list: Clowney 3 QB's Watkins Mack Gilbert 2 tackles The concern with waiting until the 2nd rd is that there are a few teams in front of the Vikings that still need a QB even if the top 3 are taken in front of the vikings. There's a good chance that if the Vikings miss on the top 3 they might be waiting until the 3rd/4th rd.
  21. kab21
    I didn't want to lose this quote. I would rate our offense as a bigger problem currently but at least there are quite a few great prospects on the way to save it. Our pitching hopes rest on Meyer and there is a little hope that Gibson could become what Santana is. That really doesn't make it a great idea to pass on him imo.
  22. kab21
    It seems like there is a chance that one of the top 3 QB's makes it to the Vikings if other teams decide to wait until the 2nd/3rd rd to pick a QB. But if the 3 QB's and Gilbert are gone then it seems like the Vikings are going to be reaching at #8 to fill a need.
  23. kab21
    The discouraging part about May is that usually starters with issues excel moving to the pen for a couple of reasons that don't apply to him. Perkins threw 90mph as a starter but that has bumped up to 94-95 in relief. May already throws hard enough as a starter. The other reason is that a converted starter can improve his walk numbers by not throwing his worst pitch. This really isn't the case for May since his control problems start with his fastball. There are quite a few hard throwing RP'ers that are quite successful with 12 K/9 and 4-5 BB/9 rates so lack of control isn't the end of the world for him. May is still a prospect but we need to stop acting like the MLB rotation is going to be blocking him. He needs to show that he is actually an MLB caliber pitcher in AA/AAA before this becomes an issue.
  24. kab21
    Appel went #1 in a 3 (or 4) player draft so the Astros had leverage. Gray is an interesting case but the Rockies must have convinced him that they would pass on him. I also think this is a deep draft at the top but people should aside any expectations that the Twins will be able to go underslot at #5 if there is a tier of 5-6 players at the top. The Twins definitely want to be drafting in that tier and not in the 2nd tier of this draft where you could get some values on draft day. So far Beede is feeling like the Gray of this draft while Hoffman might be the Manaea. Manaea still got paid like the #6 pick but he slid pretty far once he started falling.
  25. kab21
    He's competing against Parmelee, Presley, Mastro, Ramirez, Kubel, etc... He looks pretty good compared to them and even if Hicks or Buxton are in CF this year it would be nice to have a rangy OF'er in LF that can hit some. The key is not giving up any significant talent and taking him as a salary dump.
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