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jmlease1

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Everything posted by jmlease1

  1. jmlease1
    Save a little for me on Kepler. I was ready to run him out of town on a rail, but he's been excellent in the second half of the season. I will say I wasn't convinced Popkins was part of the problem or that moving him would be impactful, so I was surprised to see him catching fire.
  2. jmlease1
    Big fan of Julien: he's a disciplined hitter, and I love how he doesn't chase. he's going to strike out, but he's also going to do a lot of damage as well. He could easily put up similar OPS numbers to Arraez, but he's going to get there in different ways (more walks, more power, less BA) The defense is still a little shaky, but he's doing a bit better, which is the important thing. He's got a poor arm: not a lot of strength there (probably a result of the surgery) and it's why his throws get wild. It'll be interesting to see if he tries to develop a different style to handle those short tosses where they don't need to be as fast but just need to stay on target. he should work on playing 1B some in the off-season, just make himself a viable option there. This front office definitely likes having guys who can play multiple positions, and it's a real asset to a team having that positional flexibility so I'm on board with making that a priority. Much easier to attack platoon advantages when you don't run much risk of harming yourself defensively and have players that can move around comfortably. That also makes it easier to give players days off and respond effectively to injuries. even if Kirilloff is the #1 1B next season, having Julien ready to go if he gets a nick can only help. It'll be interesting to see how the logjam of infielders shakes itself out, but...these things usually do on the field. Injury or ineffectiveness frequently moves someone out of the way and having superior talent ready to roll behind them is awesome. I would not look to move Julien, who might have a special bat, and is under team control for a long time for anything short of a blockbuster deal. I'm definitely not offering him up to anyone that just comes a-calling.
  3. jmlease1
    I assume they're just making sure Kirilloff is as healthy as he can be before promoting him back to the MLB club, but I would love to see him back up sooner rather than later so he can get locked in against MLB pitching before playoffs. But they do seem to be trying to do the IL shuffle to hold off on any decisions that might be irreversible (i.e., DFA on Gallo). Nice day for the system overall. Some good looking talent rising through and while not everyone that's kicking butt now in the minors will make it as an effective MLB player (the odds are against it anyways) there's definitely guys in there that you look at and think they can be part of the next wave of prospects to keep loading up. I'm trying not to get ahead of myself on Walker Jenkins, but dude is doing everything right so far. trying to find a flaw in his offensive game right now requires the picking of the tiniest of nits. ("hey, kid, maybe you could get your caught stealing % under 30%. Maybe take a couple more walks so you have more walks than strikeouts." LOL) So far it's been: start pro ball? crushed it. Moved up to low A? what, this is hard? Goodness, he's fun to follow. I haven't been this excited about a Twins draft pick since Mauer (and I was seriously pumped about Buxton).
  4. jmlease1
    A really good win, and an important one. Ensuring that Cleveland can't gain ground in a head-to-head matchup is pretty huge and ramps up the pressure on them down the stretch if they want to try and steal this. With the Twins starting to get healthy and showing impressive depth...it seems more and more unlikely. Vazquez had a really good game, not just on offense. That strike 'em out-throw 'em out sequence to support Gray was huge and he was calling a nice game behind the plate. He's had some rough stretches this season at the plate, but the team has never lost confidence in him as a catcher. Correa had a nice game as well; hopefully we can find him some rest down the stretch so he's closer to full strength come playoff time. Gray was struggling with his command, but battled through it. nice to have a good performance from the bullpen to back him up too. Thought the Twins took really good ABs last night; they hit a lot of balls hard that didn't get anywhere early, but kept working and it finally paid out. 7 walks? That sure helps create opportunities.
  5. jmlease1
    I do think he'll be fine, but it's hardly a shock for him to have stretches like this. But people on this board were ready to add him to the 40-man and slot him in as the starting CF after about 20 good games in August. (BTW, he didn't tear anything up in July: OPS of .561, which is dreadful) He's only played 44 games in AAA, it's ok to let him finish the year there, get him on a good off-season program, and have him come into camp healthy and ready to compete for a spot in MLB in 2024. (which is what I've been saying all along)
  6. jmlease1
    Tough week for my guy Austin Martin. I still think his bat plays, but this is why I was pumping the brakes on calling him up to pay CF immediately for the MLB club. He needs time and consistent ABs. I'm still looking at him being a real contributor next season, but there will be bumps on the road. Nice to see Schobel settling in at AA after a tough start. Severino looks like he's going to finish the year strong and almost certainly gets added to the 40-man. Rodriguez clearly needed time to shake off the rust and get back into game shape after his injury, but he's having a fine season and will likely be in AA next year as a young stud. And what else is there to say at this point about Jenkins? the lottery really brought the Twins a heck of a player. He's off to a great start, making it clear he's not a lemon. I expect he'll have some bumps and slumps next season, but who knows? He might be just that good.
  7. jmlease1
    Not impressed with Francona's decision to quit on the game and make a mockery of it with a position player chucking 56 mph meatballs for 4 innings. Want to do it in the 9th to save a pitcher? It's still a little silly, but whatever. I could even give you the 8th. But 4 innings? That was excruciating. (and frankly, we've seen teams make a game of it down 10 runs, so with 4 to play waving the white flag gets a raspberry from me) Too bad Headrick couldn't find the zone and get another inning, but that's the only negative. Royce Lewis is healthy and letting his talent shine. I love it. So happy for that dude. Polanco being back and healthy is great for this team as well. Still such a good player and when he's rolling this lineup is much more dangerous
  8. jmlease1
    Hey, did the Twins score any runs tonight? :D
  9. jmlease1
    That would basically have Jenkins on a Ken Griffey Jr track. Which would be awesome, but holy cow.
  10. jmlease1
    look at the beautiful lack of rotation on Lewis' knuckler! Love seeing that. Such a cool and weird pitch. My uncle played minor league ball and took us out on the my local field and threw us a few of them when we were kids. We were about as effective flailing at it as chopping a fly in half with a battle axe. I would love to Lewis continue to refine the pitch and have it be part of his arsenal as he advances. So few people throw it now that there's a real advantage there.
  11. jmlease1
    I get that people are now conditioned to think only about pitch count, but Gray hardly had a great 7th inning. he got through it, but walked the leadoff man, nearly beaned a guy, hucked a seriously wild pitch, and couldn't figure out what to do with the rock in his shoe until the trainer told him to take it out. Gray got through 7, which was great. It should have been enough. the bullpen blew it when they only needed to get 2 innings. A rested Duran couldn't close the game, which really sucks...but on what planet is that Rocco's fault? He's the best reliever we have, has been one of the best in baseball until recently, has ridiculous, electric stuff...and couldn't close the game. I'm also really weary of the "Sonny Gray's mad!" nonsense and how we've guaranteed he's gone after this season because of how we've supposedly mismanaged him and treated him poorly and angered him by taking him out of games before he wanted to go, blah blah blah. Go back and take a look at Sonny Gray's career: he hasn't thrown 200 innings since he was 25. He hasn't been a guy who goes deep into games, and has been prone to the later inning blow-up once hitters have gotten dialed in against him. But despite all the complaints people are making about how he's being mistreated...he's having one of the best season of his career. He's on pace to throw more innings than in any season since he was 25. he's leading the league in ERA, ERA+, and FIP. He's never going to want to come out of a game: his arm could get ripped off by a combine harvester and he'd be all "give me a second with this staple gun and I can pitch", so you can't take his opinion at face value. They've handled him very well this season: he's on pace to hit 30+ starts, clear 175 IP (likely surpassing anything he's done since he was 25), has been effective and consistent, and is entering September healthy. If he leaves in the off-season it's because someone makes him a 4-5 year offer at $18-20M+ AAV, not because they've "pissed him off". (and if he or anyone else thinks that his next club is going to handle him much differently...dream on) It's a disappointing loss. The offense was poor again and really only Polanco and Solano had good days out there. (Wallner was ok) Jeffers was brutal (and has really cooled off over the last 2 weeks), but Kepler, Correa, Julien, and Lewis didn't do anything either. After a really nice run, the bats have gone quiet at the worst possible time. They need to pick it back up.
  12. jmlease1
    I'm much more unenthusiastic about Gallo being in the lineup at all. I guess he can still draw walks from bad pitchers who can't command the zone.
  13. jmlease1
    Arguably the biggest game of the season for the Twins. Taking the series and going on the road with a 7 game lead would be big, especially since Cleveland has a difficult series sandwiched in against TB and could be hard-pressed to gain any ground even with the Twins facing Texas again. If the twins win this series, Cleveland is now in a position where they need to sweep the rematch to give them much of a chance of getting back into the division chase. here's hoping for a dominant performance by Sonny Gray and some early run support!
  14. jmlease1
    Severino is not a great defender; his best position is "hitter". but he could be pretty good at 1B, and I suspect that's where he'll end up. Gordon is likely out of the Twins plans after a lost season, but even if he's still in consideration, it won't be for the infield. They've shown no interest in trying him at 3B, have tried to keep him away from SS except in an emergency, and he only really got time at 2B this season when Polanco and Farmer were both down. Martin is likely going to find his future more in the OF as well; while he can play 2B just fine he fills an OF slot even better and we're stacked at 2B. But there's no question that the Twins have a lot of options for the infield for 2024. I suspect AK will be the preferred starter at 1B, with Julien at 2B, Correa at SS, and Royce at 3B. Castro comes back as a utility guy with Farmer, and Martin moving to the OF primarily. Miranda, Severino, and Lee will be on the 40-man and the first options out of AAA, with Polanco very possibly being dealt. (that said, I could also see Farmer being moved if they think Polanco would be a fit as more of a super-utility and if Castro/Lewis could backup SS). Solano could get brought back under this scenario, but it would leave us a little thin in the OF unless the FO decided to keep 14 position players (highly unlikely). It's a good problem to have, but it does mean you have to make the calls right on who to deal. Severino is having a very good season and will definitely be factoring into the Twins plans. 29 HRs in a season is nothing to sneeze at, here's hoping he crosses 30 for the year!
  15. jmlease1
    This isn't a binary equation. You can have an injury but still be capable of playing (Correa has made several great plays with his arm defensively in the last few games that no one else on this team could make) but it will hamper your performance. You can be injured seriously enough that you can't be effective in the game or play at all. You can be totally healthy. And at this point in the season it's pretty common to have a few nicks and dings that you can play through but ideally would have a chance to rest and recover from. While Farmer is a capable backup and Lewis could slide in at SS, neither are as good as Correa defensively (and Farmer isn't any better offensively and gets exposed the more he plays). I'm sure the goal is to try to get through this crucial week of the season with the lead staying at 6 or more over Cleveland and to try and find some days off for Correa down the stretch to clear some of those dings off the board and improve his overall health. It's not about excuses, it's about reality. more importantly, if the Twins win today, they take the series and increase the lead to 7.
  16. jmlease1
    it's only guaranteed for 5 more seasons, instead of 9+ (last 4 years are team options, with guarantees only for full season performances) Plus the salary does start decrease after 2025 (Correa's age-30 season) and the last 4 option years have sharply decreasing salaries. Yes, it's not going to be good if this is Correa is for the next 5 years...but it's also not a franchise-ruining contract. Plantar Fasciitis sucks, but people recover from it. But it's a challenging injury in that it mostly takes time and flare ups can happen even when you have a few good weeks.
  17. jmlease1
    The worst position on the Twins is to be the highest paid player. Better never have a bad day, because fans will turn on you here so fast it'll make your head swim. (BTW, none of the star SS signed last season are having very good years at the plate; Correa is struggling the most, which is probably related to his plantar fasciitis, but Bogaerts, Swanson, and Turner are all only league average hitters this year. None are playing like stars) If you're hurt, better make sure that it's something obvious and ugly (and from a play on the field) and that you keep looking injured too. Not that it's going to happen in a billion zillion years, but if the Twins cut Correa, someone would definitely take him, especially since the contract the Twins have protect against him being bad long term. Almost no one had a particularly good game last night (Lopez battled, but gave up 8 hits and 3 walks in his 6 innings. We were lucky he only yielded 3 runs). Vazquez was pretty brutal at the plate. Gallo looked desperate for a walk, Polanco was swinging through everything, Team was 0 for 9 with RISP. Just a frustrating game. Sometimes bullpen games go that way, the matchups just don't land well and no one gets in a rhythm. Go out and win the series today and put last night's game behind you.
  18. jmlease1
    That would be desperation. Unless they think Chapman is gone for the season, there's no reason to bring in a washed up PITA like Donaldson in, and even then...I wouldn't do it. He can't stay on the field, he can't hit, he can't run and he's going to do or say something that will cause a problem. You can be a jerk when you produce (sometimes) but you can't when you're at the end of the line and your body can't cash the checks your mouth is writing. That trade worked out fine for the Twins: IKF and JD were decent last season, but not that much better than Urshela and Sanchez at the end of the day (and neither has been good this year at all), Rortvedt has been ruined by injury (sadly), and the Twins got out from under Donaldson's contract. Worth it.
  19. jmlease1
    performance like this is how Gallo keeps sticking on the roster. It's easy to talk yourself into a veteran turning it around. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for Kepler, and we've needed him to hit like this. let's just hope he can stay hot through September and into the (hopefully) playoffs
  20. jmlease1
    Love starting a series against Cleveland against with a win. Not great having Maeda go short, especially following the 13 inning marathon that basically emptied the bullpen. But Funderburk and Winder really stepped up and held the lead. Funderburk's cutter looked very good last night, and hopefully he gets a few more chances. Would like to see how it does once teams get a little film on him, but he absolutely did the job last night and did an excellent job against Cleveland. Props to Winder for running out three good innings again as well: if he's getting comfortable being a 2-3 inning guy and is someone that can be counted on to finish off games, that would be a big relief on the bullpen. Royce Lewis is just great to watch. He brings the joy and brings the big hits. So happy he's healthy and getting to show his talent. Takes a special kind of person to handle the kind of injuries he's had, and he's done it.
  21. jmlease1
    No extra points for style, so count the series win and smile. Texas might be a mess right now, but they still have a lot of great players and have been one of the better teams in the AL this season. Did we catch them at the right time, or did we just beat them? Don't know...don't care. It's a series win against a playoff-caliber team. The baserunning snafus were definitely frustrating, especially Gallo who is supposed to be a quality baserunner. It gets harder and harder to justify his roster spot every day: he can't hit, the defense has slipped, and now he's making big baserunning errors? ouch, mah dude. Roster expansion may save him briefly, but when Kirilloff, Buxton, and Castro are all healthy...how do you keep Gallo? It's late enough in the season that the salary is basically gone anyways. Hope Maeda can go deep against Cleveland, the offense piles up some runs, and Winder can throw 3 and finish it off!
  22. jmlease1
    Nice run by Alex Isola. Wish he was catching a little more though; he's got a lot more value if he's seen as a real catching prospect, but he's only had maybe 15 games behind the plate this season. I'm liking his offense a lot, but it's starting to feel like he's not seen by the organization as a real catching option, and the bar is a lot higher to hit your way into MLB at 1B or DH. Walker Jenkins ain't a lemon, that's for sure. Would love to see him finish the season strong at Fy. Myers and make it an easy decision to start next year there and see how high he can fly. I'm a huge Austin Martin backer, and felt like all he needed was decent health to work himself back into the Twins plans. He's clearly there now. But I don't see any need to jam him on the MLB roster right now with so many guys coming back from injury. Let it play out. He looks like an ideal option for the OF for next season as a right-handed bat who can get on base a lot, add value with his running, and comfortably hold down any of the OF positions (and even fill in at 2B in a pinch).
  23. jmlease1
    I'm not quite ready to say that Miller is back as a significant SS prospect yet; he's had one good month as a hitter, 2 sorta ok ones, and 2 awful ones. He's on a really good run right now, and as you note: prospect development is not linear, so this could easily be him figuring out something and putting himself on a good track. but it also could be small sample size. But it is important to remember that he's still pretty young and there's no need to rush him, especially with all of the infield talent we have in MLB and the high minors right now. If he starts out next season repeating high A it's hardly a crime. I think he's the 3rd youngest player at Cedar Rapids? (Behind Rodriguez and Salas) So it's not like it's a big concern if he slows down a little right now to get his bat where it needs to be with that quality defense. Severino continues to have an excellent season. There are always going to be some concerns about him with the big K totals, but the power is real and he doesn't just hack at everything. I'm pretty confident we'll see him at Target Field next season unless he becomes part of a trade.
  24. jmlease1
    The box is a little bit of a problem for showing balls and strikes because it's a flat plane rather than a 3D box of the strike zone. Home plate is big enough that a pitch can dip into or out of the strike zone and not always be reflected on the basic window they show on screen. And they've also said on the broadcast that what they show on screen isn't the exact zone that umpires are evaluated on (probably in part because the umpires are evaluated on a 3D box rather than a flat plane as well). The ones where it's tight on the border but look low or outside or whatever don't bother me much, so long as it's consistent. The ones where it was always 3-5 inches off the plate and they call it a strike drive me crazy. Consistency is the most important thing, which is why I'm ready to go with the electronic zone. We still need a home plate umpire to handle the oddball stuff, keep the game going if the technology fails, resolve balks, tags, foul tips, etc. but giving them the electronic assist to keep the strike zone consistent would be good for the game. It's not fun to frequently be unhappy with the way they're calling balls and strikes.
  25. jmlease1
    Royce Lewis is definitely back. We may need to encase him in bubble wrap or something, but dang he's good when he plays. Texas has been good this season; they have some big time players, and if not for Ohtani Seager would be the MVP (with Ohtani's injury, it's still possible Seager could take it if he continues to roll like he has been; dude has been awesome this year). So this is a really big series for the Twins and taking the first game really helps. Correa was clutch last night and that was great to see too. His double could not have come at a better time. Winder really did the job last night. It would be great if he could be a guy who could be counted on to pitch 2 innings in the middle innings on those days when a starter isn't able to get deeper into a game, or even when the bullpen needs a break. It's an important role to be more than just a mop-up guy and Winder did great last night. He's hard to figure out: really good breaking ball, good velocity on the fastball, but he's never been able to put it together consistently in MLB.
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