kab21
-
Posts
4,876 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Minnesota Twins News, Rumors & Analysis
Minnesota Twins Videos
2026 Minnesota Twins Top Prospect Rankings
2022 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks & Signing Bonuses
Minnesota Twins Trade & Free Agent Rumors
Minnesota Twins Fan Guides & Resources
2023 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks & Signing Bonuses
The Minnesota Twins Players Project
2024 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks & Signing Bonuses
2025 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks & Signing Bonuses
2026 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks & Signing Bonuses
Forums
Blogs
Events
Store
Downloads
Gallery
Everything posted by kab21
-
I am really interested in how Bjelica fits into the rotation. He has been getting minutes during the preseason and has shot 11/20, 6/9 (3pt) and 6/6. Can Towns and Bjelica develop enough defensively to create a team of decent to good outside shooters (minus Rubio) that spaces the floor w/o a true outside bomber?
-
Are you serious? You don't think the catching rule change is saving catchers from big hits and injuries?
-
I am completely on board but we know that this simply won't happen.
-
Smoke and mirrors = 2.88ERA, 3.38 FIP, 3.49 xFIP from a 23-25 yr old? In addition to that he has the desired 'stuff' that everyone loves. He really doesn't strike me as the kind of pitcher that falls apart. I also don't understand why you would be concerned about pitchers getting hurt when the main piece of the trade going back is a pitcher. In addition to that from my casual observation pitchers tend to get hurt (TJ or shoulder) most often when they are in the minors or in their first couple of seasons. Once they have shown that they can survive multiple 200 inning seasons the risk goes down. That is just a casual observation. IMO it is not because teams are exceeding the yearly innings limits but rather that some arms aren't capable of throwing 200+ innings and they break down regardless of how much they are babied. I do love Berrios irrationally as a prospect but the prospect of adding a low 3's ERA 200 IP starter on opening day would be very exciting. And having 4 years of team control is great. Nick must have missed my GB comment but it was thrown in at the end of paragraph and needed to be stressed again.
-
It would be shrug worthy because the Twins are entering a win now timeframe instead of setting up for 4-5 years from now. I really don't understand this fascination making the team weaker right now. Yes, Vargas is interesting but he has struggled so far and if any of Mauer/Sano/Plouffe get injured he is probably the first guy into the lineup anyway. I would give it a significantly <50% chance that all 3 of those guys make it through the year healthy. Good teams have depth and are able to call up a AA/AAA player or put a bench player into the lineup and not suffer a big drop off. Why do the Twins have to trade that kind of depth away just because they have it? But if you read that full paragraph I said that if some team blows the Twins away with some medium to high upside prospects then I have no problems with the trade. The problem is that nobody is making an argument based on the return of the trade. They just expect it to be a good trade despite only a handful of teams even needing a veteran 3B. There is a lot of league depth at 3B right now and most of the contenders are locked into a guy at the position.
-
You are dealing with Billy Beane here and not David Kahn. Good luck with adding trash (Nolasco) into the trade and getting back a prospect.
-
It is a tough one since the #1 thing holding the Twins back is something that resembles an ace. Gray doesn't have the K's that you ideally want but he is an ace-lite. That refers to the next tier of pitchers behind the obvious aces like Kershaw, Greinke, Felix, Sale, etc... The part that puts him into the ace-lite category is that he gets a lot of GB's which limit big innings. I really, really like Berrios and think he could become as good as or better than Gray but it is really common for elite prospects (better than Berrios) to come up and struggle. Some never figure it out and some take a couple of years to figure it out. I think I would do the trade and take the sure thing. If we could swap in a slightly lesser prospect for Kepler I would feel better. These are two of my favorite prospects right now.
-
If the plan is to trade Plouffe because the Twins are signing Chris Davis then sign me up. But realistically that isn't happening. If the plan is to trade Plouffe to open up a spot for Kepler then I have pause. I don't have enough confidence in the Twins young OF'ers that there will be extras rotting in AAA at midseason. Injuries happen and none of them have a proven track record that suggests they are guaranteed to make it through the season without a dreadfully awful spell that results in getting benched. Plouffe being a FA in 2 years doesn't matter at all. Nobody is talking about an extension either. The Twins have now crossed into win now where they shouldn't be getting rid of good (not great) players to make the team better 5 years from now. If a team wants Plouffe for a boatload of prospects then he is gone but all of these Plouffe threads are about a) moving Sano to 3B Plouffe will be a FA in 2 years c) opening up DH for Vargas/Kepler/Pinto/Nunez/Kubel/Tyner/Punto :go:/mythical high dollar FA. Those aren't reasons to trade Plouffe.
-
Plouffe and rosario (or Hicks) for Salazar I think you would have to aim at least that high for Salazar. He isn't worth that right now but he has the projection as a low end ace (not a top 10 pitcher but real close).
-
Yes. Mauer is going to play so he isn't part of an equation for more playing time for someone else. Theoretically there should be nothing (like money) stopping the Twins from adding to the bullpen unless they are going after a top closer (which they shouldn't). The Twins aren't spending on SP, they probably aren't spending on a catcher (lack of options) and spending on the bullpen is probably a 5-8M/yr type of spending. Trading Plouffe comes down to the quality of prospects obtained unless he goes to SD for one of their catchers. There just aren't many teams (hardly any) that need a veteran 3B and have extra MLB catchers. Adding more prospects at this point is kind of shrug-worthy but if the Twins are blown away by some prospects with upside then they certainly should listen. The absolute last thing that they should do however is feel like they need to trade Plouffe in order to clear 3B for Sano. That kind of thinking (forcing a trade) usually ends disastrously. Take an opportunity if it presents itself of course but don't force a trade.
-
If I was a MI then I would find interesting ways to fall after these take out slides resulting in a variety of forearms or knees to various parts of the slider's body. If you want to take me out then prepare for some pain yourself. I really have no idea what the take out slide adds to the game. I understand trying to break up the double play but why not just allow the baserunner to run into the 2B while he is fielding the ball in the first place? That is just as dumb but it is obviously not allowed.
-
No, he isn't part of the equation. He is playing 1B this year. People need to come to the realization that he isn't going to be in a competition for playing time. He will gets days at DH of course but he is the starting 1B. He also isn't going to get a 3B glove this year or practice at all at the position. If you trade Plouffe then the DH spot opens up for a competition of Vargas, Pinto or any of the OF prospects that aren't starting. This isn't a bad thing but the Twins need to get a good return in a Plouffe trade. If they got some really good prospects (like a medium to high upside starter) then I am not against it but he is a very good player and there are only a few teams that really have any interest in a 3B going into the offseason and Plouffe isn't the only option.
-
It seems that the MLB went down the NFL/Goodell road with this ruling. Stand by a ruling until social media outrage is so loud that they reverse course and issue a suspension. This kind of policy is going to hurt the NFL big time in the future. You can't run a league/business by gauging fan reaction for an appropriate punishment. The problem here is not Utley although he shouldn't have done that. The problem here is with the MLB for never addressing this and letting these unwritten rules (like take out the MI) be part of the game. The way baseball should be played is that a baserunner slides through the bag with his feet down on obvious force outs where the MI is trying to turn two. There is no reason that a take out slide where the baserunner can touch 2B with a fingernail (Utley didn't try) should be legal.
-
A lot of that depends on how he handles the demotion. He is kind of an awesome guy to throw in against the other teams backups and the Wolves still really need outside shooting. But if he mopes and just coasts because of it then it will be a problem. Of course KG will rip him to pieces if that happened and it affected the locker room. There was a decent article about this (maybe at Grantland) about his value. He has some value now that the cap is exploding but right now almost every team is capped out for this season. It is kind of hard to envision anything happening until the season is underway and injuries start to happen.
-
The issue is that now you have reduced the depth of the team and introduced another question mark into the lineup. Vargas should hit MLB pitching as well as Plouffe but he should have done that this year. Of course if Plouffe was traded was Norris or a package of nice prospects then Vargas becomes the DH. I don't have a problem with that but so far I see more interest in moving Plouffe so Sano can play 3B than interest in what kind of return there is. I am not sure why you complicated matters by introducing Mauer into the equation. He is playing 1B. It is time to move beyond this. If Arcia is going to play then it will be in LF anyway until either Buxton or Kepler claims the 3rd OF spot.
-
Great. There is a total of one MLB team that needs a 3B. I did something similar to Dave and looked at the contending teams that might need a 3B and the list is pretty short. The Padres are almost certainly the only one that have extra catchers. It is possible that the Twins can make a trade but it is a limited market. Nobody is saying don't call the Padres though. If they want to pay the going rate for a very good 3B (despite arguments to minimize Plouffe) then I am interested. Did somebody (on page 3) really post rankings that show Plouffe as the 20th best 3Bman? There are a lot of questionable names on that list. He isn't in the top 10 but he is right outside of that range. That isn't merely 'okay' as those that are minimizing him suggest.
-
This is my concern as well. Right now the Twins have 2 MLB 3B on the team. If you trade one and the other gets hurt for awhile then it is Eduardo Nunez in the lineup every day. that is not awesome. I like Vargas as a prospect (not technically one) but I am not making this trade to force open a spot for him. Likewise I am not convinced that the Twins have 3 OF'ers that are going to be able to hold down a starting spot for the whole season (being successful and un-injured) so I am not in a rush to trade Plouffe to open up DH for question marks.
-
It happened at a school and students were shot. It is a school shooting. It isn't a mass shooting like the other ones since it was based on a confrontation between students. But it is still a school shooting and an indication that guns are way too accessible in the US.
-
Fearless prediction - Joe pleasantly surprises with a nice season. He isn't going back to 2012 and a .400 OBP but let's say .285/.365/.420/.785. It isn't great but it will silence these silly threads.
-
It is still going to be a tough season but there is finally hope for the franchise. One domino has fallen. Mitchell named Lavine starting SG. It is a vote of confidence that he is a legit NBA'er. I like the potential with his athleticism and he seems to be a pretty good spot up shooter. This puts Rubio, Lavine and Wiggins in the starting lineup. How is the frontcourt going to play out? Will they also find minutes for the future at the expense of the veterans? Or are Pekovic and Garnet going to get a chunk of those minutes? Where does Shabazz fit in?
-
This is ridiculous (in an awesome way). I am interested to see where kepler falls in the overall rankings. Berrios has been talked about as a top 20 or even top 10 prospect. This ranking doesn't mean that he will be higher but he could be a top 50 prospect or higher.
-
Twins Daily Awards 2015: Best Rookie
kab21 replied to Nick Nelson's topic in Twins Daily Front Page News
For some reason I thought that the BBWA had embraced using PA's instead of AB's so yes Buxton is eligible by one AB. Doesn't mean much in the big picture but gives prospect analysts a little more to talk about. -
Twins Daily Awards 2015: Best Rookie
kab21 replied to Nick Nelson's topic in Twins Daily Front Page News
Buxton won't technically be eligible next year. But hopefully Berrios is in contention. Polanco is close but could be blocked. Meyer is a dark horse candidate. He has the stuff to be a shut down RP'er. -
Escobar, Dozier and Plouffe: Extension talk
kab21 replied to jorgenswest's topic in Minnesota Twins Talk
Except in Blackburn and Baker's cases they did have an option for a FA year. The club did have upside in both cases. Sort of at least in Blackburn's. A lot of upside in Baker's. He was actually pretty good. -
I am not sure if it is undervalue. I think of it as correctly value. He likely doesn't have options. Do you put Duffey and Berrios (easier choice) in the minors to start the season if you keep Milone? Santana Hughes Gibson May - there isn't a clear direction indicated for May but he should start Milone And then there is the Nolasco mess. I think Milone is a fine pitcher but the Twins have depth. I have mentioned before that Milone should be the long man in the bullpen to keep more depth but now he is a 4-5M long reliever/6th starter. That doesn't make much sense either.
