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jmlease1

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Everything posted by jmlease1

  1. jmlease1
    I would like them to stop playing him at SS. Seems like a waste, since I have a lot of trouble seeing him ever getting any time there if/when he makes it to MLB. 3B or CF are both real options though and would be an excellent result for the Twins, so why not let him focus there? (he obviously has the physical tools to succeed at a corner OF spot or 1B, but I feel pretty confident that he can learn 1B later if that's where they want to shift him.) Get him off SS for good, keep him focused on being a hitter and developing consistency. Hopefully he can translate all those wonderful tool into production. AA seems like a reasonable spot for him...just not playing SS.
  2. jmlease1
    Very happy to see Houston with a couple of xbhs, including a Big Fly. He's doing very well so far in AA, and so far disproving my concerns about him as a hitter. I am rooting for him to make me look very very stupid. :P Not interested in rushing him to AAA; let's let him show out a little more in Wichita and try and remember that this is his first full professional season. Pushing up to AA in your first full pro season at 22 (and it's not like he's turning 23 in August either; he turned 22 in April) is just fine for now. The glove is good enough for MLB right now, which is great news, and if he's starting next season in AAA after a successful season where he showed he could hit at High-A and AA would be terrific news. I like seeing the xbhs because it suggests he can be more than just a slap-hitting, defense-only player. We don't need him to turn into a slugger, just continue being a guy with good speed, control of the strike zone, gap power, and the ability to punish a mistake. With his glove, that's a player with a very nice future. My fear was that Houston was going to quickly look more like Noah Miller, whose glove everyone loved...but dude simply wasn't hitting. Miller is now 23 and while he's made it to AAA, this is the first season he's ever had an OPS over .700, while while superficially Miller's .767 OPS looks pretty good, his team's collective OPS is .825. The PCL as a whole is hitting .796. Miller is going to make it to MLB because his glove is quite good, but he's going to be in a utility role that will gets bounced up and down until his options run out, because his bat likely won't play up enough for him to start, even with that fine glove. If Houston stays on this path as a hitter, he'll be a potential starter. He's not there yet, but the path and production so far has been good. It's encouraging to see him do well upon promotion this time, rather than struggle. The next test is maintaining it, and not falling off at the end of the season after getting ground down by the length of a pro season. Looking forward to see if he can pass those marks.
  3. jmlease1
    I'm a big fan of Quick. We will have to see how his arm responds to a full season of use post-Tommy John and whether or not he can improve his command, but the floor is pretty high on this dude if he stays healthy and the ceiling is high as well. Right now he profiles as someone who can be a high-level starter who has the stuff to dominate hitters. He'll need to keep evolving and learn more about how to pitch, set up hitters, take advantage of counts in his favor, and might need to add a 4th pitch depending on how his development goes to continue his rise...but the tools are there. The walks are a little concerning, but everything else is looking very good. I think it's notable that his splits have been very even this season; righties hit him a little more often, lefties hit him a little harder, but neither performs well overall. That suggests the pitch mix he's working with the stuff he has are enough for now.
  4. jmlease1
    Another series win, exactly what you like to see. 5 straight series wins going into the all-star break is very nice work by the team. They'll need to keep it up and now come back out of the break flat, but I will take going 10-5 over your last 15 every single time. Bradley pitched very well again. He gave up a couple of long balls and that's something worth keeping an eye on, but solo shots don't do that much damage, and his ability to comfortably go 7 innings is awfully exciting. A little surprised to see Morris being asked to go 2 going into the break, but they finished it off and got the win which is all that matters. They're weathering this time without Buxton well on offense, hopefully we get Buck back soon and ready to roll. They're positioning themselves to be buyers rather than sellers at the deadline, which is a very positive situation.
  5. jmlease1
    Good win. Needed that, and if they can get another good start from Taj and some quality offense again, we could go into the all-star break with 5 series wins in a row, and that's what you want to see. Was a little bummed how few people were in the stands for Bremer's induction (it looked really sparse on tv); he deserved a big, rowdy crowd. Royce ripping the big fly was great. He's wobbled a little in July, so you like seeing him rip one. Roden's been doing reasonably well since coming up, looks much more comfortable than last season for sure. Glad Keaschall's flub didn't have any real impact. But good grief that looked...bad.
  6. jmlease1
    Wasn't really that long ago when Lebron was being talked about as a top 5 pick and a real contender to be the Twins pick. The world has changed since then.
  7. jmlease1
    Think the Twins took the best player available, which is what I want when picking that high. Lackey could rise very quickly, and having a catcher who can also add real offense is a big big bonus. He really does look like a great talent, someone who can be a difference-maker. Very happy with this pick, hard to see any real down side.
  8. jmlease1
    Interesting promotion of Quick; he's certainly got the stuff to compete in AA right now, but he's still working on his command. Wonder what the thinking was behind the decision to move him up now? I don't hate it.
  9. jmlease1
    If we don't look at Bradley's number's coming off the IL it gets easier again. Jax's early struggles happened. (Conspiracy Josh wonders if Jax's stated desire to start contributed to Jax struggling in relief again at the start of the season...) And if Jax is gone from TB because they won't pay his salary/can't reach an extension...how do you feel about it? Bradley ain't going anywhere.
  10. jmlease1
    It's certainly possible that Jax's move back to the rotation has unlocked something for him and he'll be cruising as a starter for the rest of his career, but I think it's notable how careful TB has been with him in this role: hasn't thrown over 90 pitches, only gone past the 5th inning once, etc. And it's not about him needing more time to get stretched out: he's almost 2 months into this change in role. The reality is, Jax is 31 and Bradley is 25. Jax is more expensive, with less team control. Those are not small things. But for me, Bradley also has higher end potential. 8 of his 17 starts he's put up a Game Score over 60, with half of them over 65. Bradley has over half his starts going 6 or more innings. He's had some stinkers (4 with a Game Score of 40 or less), but 3 of those were in his first 4 starts coming off time on the IL. Bradley has looked like a frontline starter, someone you would be very comfortable starting Game 1 of a playoff series. He's 6 years younger than Jax, significant cheaper, and under team control for longer. The upside looks higher, and I feel pretty good about this trade.
  11. jmlease1
    You're the king of bad takes lately it seems.
  12. jmlease1
    Oh, boy Winokur just crushed that one. When he gets ahold of one it can be downright majestic. I like him getting promoted with Houston, hopefully that means he won't play any more SS. ;) The walks from Quick aren't great, but I'm not worried yet. Give him more innings and let's see where he lands. the stuff can be absolutely overwhelming, so it'll be interesting if it's an issue of he doesn't know where it's going when he throws it or he's trying to be too fine in hitting his spots over trusting his stuff? I like the arm talent and feel like he could be a guy that will take a big leap at some point when he finds a groove. Houston is doing just fine in AA so far. Wouldn't complain about him ripping a few more xbhs, but I think he'll get there, and with his glove the floor is pretty high. A future infield mix of Culpepper, Houston, Lee, and Lewis would be intriguing...
  13. jmlease1
    I think that's right. If you do this too much it's probably not going to work; guys might start repeating stories (is it hilarious a couple of times a year to bag on Plouffe for eating the dirt chasing a foul? Sure is! Is that funny 10 times a year? Not really.) Letting them play around with the format and do some different things is fine, especially when you can tell the guys are also having fun with it. What it can't be is fake. It has to come from them and they have to be bought in and enjoying it. Do I want this every series? No. Do I want it every week? I doubt it. But 3-4 times a season should keep it fresh and fun. It's not going to be for everyone...but not everything has to be for everyone. If they get worried about turning off the grognards, I'd say put the radio broadcast on as a secondary audio that people not into it could switch to...but you'd probably just have the grouchy people complaining about how that's too hard too. I do think they should make sure to note pitching changes, pinch hitters, defensive replacements, etc when they happen regardless of a bit they're doing. That's important to know what's going on, and I want to hear what kind of impact these guys think the move will have (I kind of feel like they're a little more willing to question stuff when it's just a bunch of ex-players in the booth?). But as long as they keep updating the graphics, we can see what the count is, what pitch was just thrown, etc. I don't want it all the time, and they need to be careful not to overexpose the bit...but it's been fun. Change is good. Don't fear change, embrace it. Because the world spins whether you want it to or not.
  14. jmlease1
    Any win over Cleveland is a good win. Our luck the past few years there hasn't been good, so nice to see a few breaks come back our way. Roden with a nice return to MLB. Will be interesting to see how he does while Buck is out, but would be nice for him to make it a hard call about who to send down when Buck is back (and make it so there's no need to rush him back but make sure that he's feeling good). Not Prielipp's best start, but he did enough, and he's been important in patching the rotation together through a lot of injuries. Funny that a guy who struggled so much to get healthy and on the field is now a key guy in holding the rotation together through other injuries. I believe that's 4 straight series wins? Love to see it. You keep winning series and you can become a serious team. Here's hoping they stick a knife in Cleveland with a sweep, but thrilled with a series win. I like how this team grinds out games.
  15. jmlease1
    Glad to see Houston get some xbhs; I wasn't terribly worried about it after so few games, but part of what made his time this year in Cedar Rapids notable was he wasn't just slapping singles. He showed enough gap power and the ability to occasionally drop one in the seats to go along with good contact skills and an understanding of the strike zone. Hopefully he continues on as he settles in at AA. He's raising his ceiling nicely this year. DeBarge is having a good week; now let's see if he can turn it into a good month. He hasn't had a particularly good season, but a strong second half will make a difference. Amick is not going to be popular around here with that BA, and he's definitely taking a "3 true outcomes" approach at the plate right now...but it is working for him which matters after a rotten AFL stint and some injury issues in A-ball. We'll see if he can make enough contact consistently to keep going. Congrats to Alan Roden on his return to MLB!
  16. jmlease1
    Bradley was terrific. Game Score of 77, a season high. Really liked how efficient he was. Seems to have gotten back in a good rhythm again. Was nice to see someone else's defense let them down for once too. Don't usually expect that from Cleveland, but their infield in particular really kicked it around, and it was good the Twins took advantage of the extra outs by putting 2 on the board. Fedko does not look confident at the plate. He's pressing looking for that first MLB hit and it shows.
  17. jmlease1
    ok, so it's a "first team to give us something for this guy before we have to release him" trade. you're not exactly worrying about who gets him at that point.
  18. jmlease1
    Tigers wouldn't have any idea where he was going to go when he exercised his "promote me or release me" clause. It's not a trade. He's been good in the minors this year, he was good in the WBC, why not give him a shot?
  19. jmlease1
    This is the basic problem with the Bell signing in the first place: it really reduces the roster spot availability for the bats that are the most ready in AAA. Without Bell, Larnach DH's much more and there's playing time available in the OF for Roden (or Mendez, or GG, or Jenkins, or E-Rod, etc). It was the biggest issue against keeping Larnach (which I was against; clearly I was wrong) or signing Bell (I was ok with...but I also wanted Larnach gone, so in my formulation the roster spot would have been available. Probably wrong on that one as well). Going into the season the Twins clearly favored keeping/adding veterans over turning over more roles to inexperienced players. It's mostly worked out...for now. But there's little chance Larnach is with the Twins in 2027; he'll be in line for a bump to $8M+ in arbitration I would think and how is this team going to pay that for a platoon-ish corner OF/DH who is merely ok defensively and adds little else? Bell won't be back either, especially with Royce fitting in at 1B. But Larnach is hitting very well and they need that production, and Bell is on one of his hot streaks and mashing away. If we were 10 games back of the division/WC they'd be easy sell candidates...and might even bring things back of real value, not just A-ball lottery tickets. But selling to open things up for an unproven Roden is a lot harder when the team is only 4 games back of the division (which isn't much) and 1.5 in the WC with only other 1 team ahead of them (a team the Twins just took 2 of 3 from on the road). I think you still move Roden up, but unless Buck goes on the IL it'll be hard to find a lot of ABs for him, which isn't great. But I'd much rather have Roden in CF than Kreidler, who I would prefer take all the SS innings and sit Gray down until Culpepper is ready. There's a lot of CW in what I'm saying, and little of it new. So what's holding up the Twins front office? What don't we know?
  20. jmlease1
    Would like to see Roden up; it'll make the team more LH, but they're not really using Fedko anyways so what difference does it make? Would also like to see Culpepper up ASAP and to end the Tristin Gray experiment, sliding Kreidler into the role he's best suited for: defensive minded utility guy who can crank a homer if a pitcher hangs one/doesn't take him seriously at the plate. Need to find out what we have in him, but also need to have guys that we are actually going to play in every roster spot, and Fedko doesn't seem to have much trust from Shelton.
  21. jmlease1
    I think the jury's still out on Houston as a hitter, but he's done a lot this season to show that he'll be able to compete. It was very reasonable to be concerned that those college homers would just be easy flyball outs in the pros, but he's shown he has the ability to be a solid gap hitter. So far in AA there's been no pop, but it's still early and a small sample. He's not hitting well, but he's not getting killed. He's still got some real work to do, but what he did in Cedar Rapids suggests he can make adjustments. The defense is for real, but he's unlikely going to be ready for MLB in 2027. But his floor is a defensive-minded utility guy, and if he hits at all he can be a starting SS. We'll see how he does. I was a doubter, but he's been proving me wrong. AA should be a good challenge for him.
  22. jmlease1
    You also seem to get off on insulting a beloved player for the Twins, and act like his injuries over the years are some personal failing, which is damn stupid. That's what is offending people.
  23. jmlease1
    Joe Ryan was awesome. Love seeing it. Any road series win is great, but against the hated Yankees? Outstanding. Brooks Lee had a nice game today. He's been scrabbling a bit at the plate but his season has improved after the move to 3B. His RH swing has been good this season, not sure why he's struggling so much overall from the other side, but days like this have to help him. Cleveland series is a pretty big one. If they can pick up some games here that would be a real move if they plan to be in this division race and/or push for a WC.
  24. jmlease1
    Any win against NY is a good win. Hope the foot injury Zebby picked up isn't serious; would have been nice for him to get through 6, and I think he could have done it before dropping out with injury. Ah, well. Only thing the pitching really did wrong was hand out too many free passes; even the homers I can live with. In that bandbox of a stadium you're going to give up a few. But 6 walks means we dodged some bullets. Loved what we saw from the offense. Lots of hits, lots of walks, lots of homers. But also liked how they took advantage of some extra outs and had some good baserunning. Would love it if they take the series. Winning a road series against the hated NYY? Let's gooooo....
  25. jmlease1
    Twins really do need to figure out what they're doing with their OF. They have AAA guys that need to be tested in MLB, but they currently have no spots available, and with Keaschall moving out there now they have less innings available it seems. Larnach is hitting too well to dump unless the team does a sell-off at the deadline and they're far to adverse to losing an asset to DFA Martin (who would get picked up by someone else despite a 2 month slump and getting wiped out by RHP). But at the same time, they need to make some calls with guys like Wallner, Roden, Jenkins, GG, Mendez for the future and they don't have any MLB innings available to do it. Nice to see Amick & DeBarge have good days at the plate. Be very interested to see where they are at the end of the month; Amick's had a power explosion this season so his overall numbers look fine but the low BA and high K-rate will be unpalatable to many, and hanging around the Mendoza line with that kind of K-rate in AA doesn't suggest a workable approach as the pitching gets better. DeBarge is about a year in to his bat struggling now over 2 levels, and needs to start finding another gear or he'll be off the top prospect list completely. He adds some things with speed and defense, but has to hit better than this: he's striking out a lot, not making a lot of contact, not getting hits, not showing power, and not even getting on base enough. Still not sure what to make of Gallagher; outing like this is encouraging! But he's done this before, and then gone out and given up 7 runs. The consistency is not there, and there's too many walks overall. But he might have a chance, which is pretty good for a guy we collected for a pending free agent who wasn't even playing well.
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