jmlease1

It's an interesting analysis. I don't always agree with some of FanGraphs methodologies in prospect evaluation but it's certainly reasonable. And I really have no way to properly evaluate the guys who are in instructional leagues. Thought the most salient point was the evaluation of the system as whole as being deep, despite the trades of prospect capital that have been made. They might have less high-end talent than some, but have a lot of guys who can develop and progress.
I think they're a little bit off on Martin; indicators from the Twins looks like they're comfortable with him anywhere in the OF and are trying to see whether or not he can stick on the dirt. I think it's likely he would be playing less SS this season, but he's been injured so that's been off the table. It's a real shame that he's been hurt this season, because it was looking like he'd gotten himself back on track in the AFL.
 

Not me! Maybe they look to move on from him in the off-season, depending on how various other players have developed this season, but he's a key player for this team and an important offensive cog. Happy to see Polanco in the lineup.
Really good win for the Twins on a night when the offense was light. Ober pitched well, but dodged several bullets (a better offense might have hung several on him). Great to see the bullpen hold it down again: Duran is a monster and a real weapon in the 'pen. Getting Thielbar back will help steady things back there, I think, and make us a little less reliant on wild boys like Moran/Stewart/Pagan in tighter games.
Cleveland has bigger problems than we do on offense; outside of Ramirez and Maylor there's a massive power outage over there, and with their luck in 1-run games from last year flipping back they're in real trouble if they don't start hitting soon. Hopefully it doesn't happen this weekend at all!

Not me! Maybe they look to move on from him in the off-season, depending on how various other players have developed this season, but he's a key player for this team and an important offensive cog. Happy to see Polanco in the lineup.
Really good win for the Twins on a night when the offense was light. Ober pitched well, but dodged several bullets (a better offense might have hung several on him). Great to see the bullpen hold it down again: Duran is a monster and a real weapon in the 'pen. Getting Thielbar back will help steady things back there, I think, and make us a little less reliant on wild boys like Moran/Stewart/Pagan in tighter games.
Cleveland has bigger problems than we do on offense; outside of Ramirez and Maylor there's a massive power outage over there, and with their luck in 1-run games from last year flipping back they're in real trouble if they don't start hitting soon. Hopefully it doesn't happen this weekend at all!

Not a great night for the affiliates, nor for most of the prospect list! (though good to see guys like Julien and E-Rod still taking walks even on nights when they're not connecting. Suggests that the approach is right even if the results weren't big)
Severino continues to perform well on offense; have to wonder if he has a defensive position, but if he keeps hitting like this he'll find a job somewhere I think. 
And the Kala'i Rosario Saga continues on: he got dissed a bit in the FanGraphs prospect write-up this week, so of course he just turns in another great game at the plate. Maybe we should just find someone to ding him for something every week to keep giving him someone else to prove wrong? :D Twins have to feel good about his progress this season.

Not a great night for the affiliates, nor for most of the prospect list! (though good to see guys like Julien and E-Rod still taking walks even on nights when they're not connecting. Suggests that the approach is right even if the results weren't big)
Severino continues to perform well on offense; have to wonder if he has a defensive position, but if he keeps hitting like this he'll find a job somewhere I think. 
And the Kala'i Rosario Saga continues on: he got dissed a bit in the FanGraphs prospect write-up this week, so of course he just turns in another great game at the plate. Maybe we should just find someone to ding him for something every week to keep giving him someone else to prove wrong? :D Twins have to feel good about his progress this season.

It's an interesting analysis. I don't always agree with some of FanGraphs methodologies in prospect evaluation but it's certainly reasonable. And I really have no way to properly evaluate the guys who are in instructional leagues. Thought the most salient point was the evaluation of the system as whole as being deep, despite the trades of prospect capital that have been made. They might have less high-end talent than some, but have a lot of guys who can develop and progress.
I think they're a little bit off on Martin; indicators from the Twins looks like they're comfortable with him anywhere in the OF and are trying to see whether or not he can stick on the dirt. I think it's likely he would be playing less SS this season, but he's been injured so that's been off the table. It's a real shame that he's been hurt this season, because it was looking like he'd gotten himself back on track in the AFL.
 

Preilipp is a great risk by the Twins, even if it doesn't work. It was a good decision. I think he could pitch out of the pen this year, and I'd consider having him be there (even in the minors) all year, just to build him back up slowly. 

Longenhagens seems much more realistic about Prielipp than the prospect rankers here at TD, essentially flipping him with Festa on their list.
I like how they tier the list. It helps to understand that 8-12 are rather interchangable, but 7 is clearly a slight step up, while 6 is a full step up. 
Longenhagens is a freak. It's crazy listening to him converse as he seems to remember every detail about 1000+ prospects in MiLB at any time. Just freak.

Thanks for the heads-up, Mike.
Some random observations:
Last year's list had 40 prospects at 35+ or higher. Given the fact that we traded five guys off that list for MLB assets, and given the fact that another nine guys were dropped, and given the fact that another five guys graduated, I'm really pleasantly surprised that the system has produced 36 prospects at 35+ or higher. That bodes well. Lots of exciting new names, especially from the IFA ranks.
The prominent drops were Cavaco, Sabato, Urbina, Enlow, and Soularie. I'm disappointed that Enlow is not grading out well.
Personally, when I compare systems, I ignore prospects with less than a 40FV. And yet, two 35+ names off last year's list are contributing in MLB now: Jovani Moran and shockingly Yennier Cano at age 29.

Accidents happen during a 162 game schedule. I know this has been re-hashed countless times but going into the season with 8 MLB ready starters is not only prudent but also the smart thing to do. Maeda in bullpen to start the season may have been better in hindsight, and I hope that's what he comes back as, but we should not be anything except thrilled with starting pitching results so far.

I think I heard they were going to activate Thielbar today.  Stewart could go two days in a row.  Of course, they have Jax and Lopez.  Jax has been quite unlucky.  I think he will be fine.  

A win is a win.  Twins win a 7-6 game and more than half the posters want to talk about how Buck and Correa going out with injuries helped the lineup.  
1-0 win and there's no talk about how maybe they needed some more bats to get some more runs across.
It's a long ass season.  I know 7 and 10 game streaks are great to rave about.   May 16th, Castro was hitting .190 and was the number one DFA candidate.  Fast forward, now he's the MVP.    
1 comment out of 20  even mentioned Jorge.  He had a pretty damn large game winning hi...with 2 outs BTW.  I know Polanco isn't a sexy name like Kiriloff, Lewis or Wallner.....but a "grizzled" 29 year old vet can get it done sometimes too.
That's 3 in a row.  That's 4 out of 5.  That's a lead of 5.5 over Cleveland....(who IMO is miles better than Detroit).  Tomorrow is Gray day!

I wanted to point out that Jeffers had another strong game. He did not score the run, but it was his double that set up the inning. 
 
Good offensive numbers so far and a good receiver. The running game hasn’t killed the Twins as I feared. Vázquez has had a couple of good game recently, as well. 

hard to pick between Ryan, Ober, and Varland. I think Ryan is the right choice, but I wouldn't squawk too much about any of the others.
oddly, one of my favorite performances by Ryan was his last one which was also easily his worst of the whole season. he just didn't have it, and you could see it early, but he still battled his way through 4 innings and tried to grind it out. I dunno, there's just something about him when he's on the mound.

Concur. Willi's career numbers at SS are pretty weak and he hasn't started a single game there for the Twins, but they like him over Gordon there. He's younger, faster and with a stronger arm, so if the hitting is close to equal, Castro is the better player and better fit on the roster, particularly because he's a switch hitter without wide platoon splits.

Never understood that, really. but seeing the reactions to Miranda and Julien not being immediate all-stars makes me wonder if some folks just don't have patience for prospects.

Good job by the offense in getting us back in the game and then winning it late. Royce Lewis sure does seem to have that igniter in his skill set (he also made some very nice plays at 3B and looks pretty solid there)
Tough night for the home plate umpire last night, but fortunately it didn't impact the outcome. But it's increasingly frustrating to see umpires not have a consistent (and correct) strike zone. Correa got rung up on a pitch that sure looked outside, and then the ump loses track of the count against Lewis when he struck him out on a ball that definitely looked low. Considering the Twins were in a position to push some more runs across the plate when the ump took the bat out of our players hand again the "I'm bad enough at my job that I can't keep track of the count" was a little maddening.
P.Lopez was rolling along pretty well before imploding in the 6th. A little disappointing, because it sure looked like he was going to cruise through 6 or 7 innings, but the bullpen did a nice job picking him up. It's still hard to trust Pagan, but he did a very nice job holding Cleveland down for a couple of innings and then Jax finished it off. Feels good to only use 3 pitchers last night in a game that ended 7-6 while getting deeper into Cleveland's pen.

That's a really big night for Cedar Rapids!
I've been on Team Rosario for a while now and he keeps doing everything right to get himself promoted: hitting for power, good contact rates and a strong batting average, taking walks, and a more than reasonable K-rate. And this isn't a older player beating up on a bunch of kids: he's still only 20 (for now)! He looks like an easy choice to move up to Wichita at midseason to me.
E-Rod had a great night. He's so talented, but we shouldn't be surprised that it's taking him a while to find consistency coming off a knee injury at his age while adjusting to a new level of competition. He's still taking walks and his overall approach at the plate is sound. He's still so young (just barely turned 20) but the ball explodes off his bat and he's going to be really fun to watch all year. Looking forward to a few more 3-hit nights!

That's a really big night for Cedar Rapids!
I've been on Team Rosario for a while now and he keeps doing everything right to get himself promoted: hitting for power, good contact rates and a strong batting average, taking walks, and a more than reasonable K-rate. And this isn't a older player beating up on a bunch of kids: he's still only 20 (for now)! He looks like an easy choice to move up to Wichita at midseason to me.
E-Rod had a great night. He's so talented, but we shouldn't be surprised that it's taking him a while to find consistency coming off a knee injury at his age while adjusting to a new level of competition. He's still taking walks and his overall approach at the plate is sound. He's still so young (just barely turned 20) but the ball explodes off his bat and he's going to be really fun to watch all year. Looking forward to a few more 3-hit nights!

That's a really big night for Cedar Rapids!
I've been on Team Rosario for a while now and he keeps doing everything right to get himself promoted: hitting for power, good contact rates and a strong batting average, taking walks, and a more than reasonable K-rate. And this isn't a older player beating up on a bunch of kids: he's still only 20 (for now)! He looks like an easy choice to move up to Wichita at midseason to me.
E-Rod had a great night. He's so talented, but we shouldn't be surprised that it's taking him a while to find consistency coming off a knee injury at his age while adjusting to a new level of competition. He's still taking walks and his overall approach at the plate is sound. He's still so young (just barely turned 20) but the ball explodes off his bat and he's going to be really fun to watch all year. Looking forward to a few more 3-hit nights!

Good job by the offense in getting us back in the game and then winning it late. Royce Lewis sure does seem to have that igniter in his skill set (he also made some very nice plays at 3B and looks pretty solid there)
Tough night for the home plate umpire last night, but fortunately it didn't impact the outcome. But it's increasingly frustrating to see umpires not have a consistent (and correct) strike zone. Correa got rung up on a pitch that sure looked outside, and then the ump loses track of the count against Lewis when he struck him out on a ball that definitely looked low. Considering the Twins were in a position to push some more runs across the plate when the ump took the bat out of our players hand again the "I'm bad enough at my job that I can't keep track of the count" was a little maddening.
P.Lopez was rolling along pretty well before imploding in the 6th. A little disappointing, because it sure looked like he was going to cruise through 6 or 7 innings, but the bullpen did a nice job picking him up. It's still hard to trust Pagan, but he did a very nice job holding Cleveland down for a couple of innings and then Jax finished it off. Feels good to only use 3 pitchers last night in a game that ended 7-6 while getting deeper into Cleveland's pen.

Wow, what a night in Lansing for the Kernels hitters!  I think they had a couple full weeks earlier in the season where they didn't even score close to 24 runs. It seems the 8 runs in the 9th were off of a position player, so take those stats with a grain of salt but still a great night for many guys.
Watching Tanner Schobel earlier this year he looked like a guy who could punch above his weight though the stat line didn't really show it at the time.  He's been coming on lately though.  7 game hit streak in which he is 14 for 33 and now HR in back to back games.
I also commented a few weeks ago that Rosario seemed like a guy that could be a minor tweak away from a breakout and it seems like it may have happened.  5 HR in the last 2 and 1/2 weeks and the plate discipline numbers continue to trend in the right direction.

Good job by the offense in getting us back in the game and then winning it late. Royce Lewis sure does seem to have that igniter in his skill set (he also made some very nice plays at 3B and looks pretty solid there)
Tough night for the home plate umpire last night, but fortunately it didn't impact the outcome. But it's increasingly frustrating to see umpires not have a consistent (and correct) strike zone. Correa got rung up on a pitch that sure looked outside, and then the ump loses track of the count against Lewis when he struck him out on a ball that definitely looked low. Considering the Twins were in a position to push some more runs across the plate when the ump took the bat out of our players hand again the "I'm bad enough at my job that I can't keep track of the count" was a little maddening.
P.Lopez was rolling along pretty well before imploding in the 6th. A little disappointing, because it sure looked like he was going to cruise through 6 or 7 innings, but the bullpen did a nice job picking him up. It's still hard to trust Pagan, but he did a very nice job holding Cleveland down for a couple of innings and then Jax finished it off. Feels good to only use 3 pitchers last night in a game that ended 7-6 while getting deeper into Cleveland's pen.

Good job by the offense in getting us back in the game and then winning it late. Royce Lewis sure does seem to have that igniter in his skill set (he also made some very nice plays at 3B and looks pretty solid there)
Tough night for the home plate umpire last night, but fortunately it didn't impact the outcome. But it's increasingly frustrating to see umpires not have a consistent (and correct) strike zone. Correa got rung up on a pitch that sure looked outside, and then the ump loses track of the count against Lewis when he struck him out on a ball that definitely looked low. Considering the Twins were in a position to push some more runs across the plate when the ump took the bat out of our players hand again the "I'm bad enough at my job that I can't keep track of the count" was a little maddening.
P.Lopez was rolling along pretty well before imploding in the 6th. A little disappointing, because it sure looked like he was going to cruise through 6 or 7 innings, but the bullpen did a nice job picking him up. It's still hard to trust Pagan, but he did a very nice job holding Cleveland down for a couple of innings and then Jax finished it off. Feels good to only use 3 pitchers last night in a game that ended 7-6 while getting deeper into Cleveland's pen.

Marlin Perkins doing Color:
This is the American third baseman in it's natural habitat. Third basemen are fiercely territorial as they tend to hunt and defend small tracts of land that they claim for themselves.  This guy here with the number 23 clearly visible on his back, is powerful, fast and capable of amazing feats of athleticism as he waits for his prey to come flying through at speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour.
Let's watch what he does here. 
That's impressive. He took Jim Fowler down with such ease and has now eaten him. I will notify Jim's family but WOW... This is an impressive specimen.