Seth Stohs

Brian Dozier posted some incredible numbers in 2016. Despite a very slow start and missing games at the end with injury, he hit .268/.340/.546 (.886) with 35 doubles, five triples, 42 homers, 104 runs scored and 99 RBI. On Thursday, the Silver Slugger Awards were announced. Jose Altuve of the Houston Astros won the Award for AL Second Baseman for the third straight year. They don't give any ranking for the awards, but it's possible that, despite his remarkable numbers, Dozier could have finished as low as third among AL second baseman. Long considered a defense-first position, second base has become a position where offense matters. This isn't necessarily new. Altuve, Ian Kinsler, Dustin Pedroia and Robinson Cano have been putting up strong offensive numbers for most of a decade. This year, however, ten American League second basemen posted an fWAR of at least 2.0. Image courtesy of Jesse Johnson, USA Today Brian Dozier posted some incredible numbers in 2016. Despite a very slow start and missing games at the end with injury, he hit .268/.340/.546 (.886) with 35 doubles, five triples, 42 homers, 104 runs scored and 99 RBI. On Thursday, the Silver Slugger Awards were announced. Jose Altuve of the Houston Astros won the Award for AL Second Baseman for the third straight year. They don't give any ranking for the awards, but it's possible that, despite his remarkable numbers, Dozier could have finished as low as third among AL second baseman. Long considered a defense-first position, second base has become a position where offense matters. This isn't necessarily new. Altuve, Ian Kinsler, Dustin Pedroia and Robinson Cano have been putting up strong offensive numbers for most of a decade. This year, however, ten American League second basemen posted an fWAR of at least 2.0. There's no real 'analysis' to the below. I'm just going to post the Top 10 rankings among American League second basemen in 2016. What's remarkable to me is that 22-year-old Rougned Odor of the Texas Rangers knocked 33 home runs in 2016 and isn't among the Top 5 in other categories and he's not in the upper half at the position in most categories. Read below to see where Brian Dozier ranked among American League second basemen. In the Twins Daily Offseason Handbook, Nick wrote an article on Dealing Dozier. It's well worth the read. You can download a copy of the Handbook right now at no charge (or you are welcomed to give a donation if you choose). Top 10 (Runs Scored) Ian Kinsler - 117 Jose Altuve - 108 Robinson Cano - 107 Dustin Pedroia - 105 Brian Dozier - 104 Jason Kipnis - 91 Rougned Odor - 89 Jonathan Schoop - 82 Logan Forsythe - 76 Starlin Castro - 63 Top 10 (RBI) Robinson Cano - 103 Brian Dozier - 99 Jose Altuve - 96 Rougned Odor - 88 Ian Kinsler - 83 Jason Kipnis - 82 Dustin Pedroia - 74 Starlin Castro - 70 Logan Forsythe - 52 Devon Travis - 50 Top 10 (Doubles) Jose Altuve - 42 Jason Kipnis - 41 Jonathan Schoop - 38 Dustin Pedroia - 36 Brian Dozier - 35 Robinson Cano - 33 Rougned Odor - 33 Starlin Castro - 29 Ian Kinsler - 29 Devon Travis - 28 Top 10 (Home Runs) Brian Dozier - 42 Robinson Cano - 39 Rougned Odor - 33 Ian Kinsler - 28 Jonathan Schoop - 25 Jose Altuve - 24 Jason Kipnis - 23 Starlin Castro - 21 Logan Forsythe - 20 Dustin Pedroia - 15 OPS+ (100 is average) Jose Altuve - 154 Robinson Cano -138 Brian Dozier - 136 Ian Kinsler - 124 Dustin Pedroia - 124 Logan Forsythe - 113 Devon Travis - 108 Jason Kipnis - 107 Rougned Odor - 105 Brett Lawrie - 99 Top 10 (bWAR - Wins Above Replacement by Baseball Reference) Jose Altuve - 6.7 Robinson Cano - 6.0 Brian Dozier - 5.9 Ian Kinsler - 5.8 Dustin Pedroia - 5.2 Jason Kipnis - 4.8 Logan Forsythe - 2.8 Devon Travis - 2.5 Rougned Odor - 2.0 Jonathan Schoop - 2.0 Top 10 (fWAR - Wins Above Replacement by FanGraphs) Jose Altuve - 6.7 Robinson Cano - 6.0 Brian Dozier - 5.9 Ian Kinsler - 5.8 Dustin Pedroia - 5.2 Jason Kipnis - 4.8 Logan Forsythe - 2.8 Devon Travis - 2.5 Rougned Odor - 2.0 Jonathan Schoop - 2.0 Of course, FanGraphs also assigns a value in dollars to their WAR calculation. For 2016, that value was approximately $8 million. So just for fun, that would mean that Altuve's 2016 season was valued at $53.4 million. Cano was valued at $47.6 million. Brian Dozier's 2016 season was valued at $47.2 million. Before the 2015 season, Dozier signed a four year, $20 million contract. In 2016, he more than earned his $3 million salary. Since joining the Twins during the 2012 season, he has been valued at $124.5 million to the Twins. For some context, Joe Mauer's 2009 season was valued at $48.4 million. (7.6 WAR at about $6.4 million per) Mauer's 2009 season was the only season in which he eclipsed Dozier's 5.9 fWAR of 2016. Mauer had seasons with 5.8 fWAR () and 5.7 fWAR () and he accumulated 5.3 fWAR in 2013 when his season ended six weeks early with his concussion. Brian Dozier had an incredible 2016 season, one of the best in organization history. He had an incredible season, historically, for a second baseman. In a year of many great second basemen, Dozier was right near the top. ------------------------------------------------------ Again, the Offseason Handbook can be downloaded now at no charge (or, name your price). View full article

Pretty much... but that doesn't mean they were teaching it and encouraging it as the most important thing a pitcher can have.

In their press conference on Monday, Falvey and Levine talked about the communication between them and Molitor and others. My guess, and that's all it is... is that the new regime is willing to give most people a year to determine their future. These decisions would seem to be almost fully made by Paul Molitor with some input from the big two based on their discussions and information they have.

The Twins aren't teaching fastball control in the lower levels? My assumption is that there isn't an organization in baseball where that wouldn't be taught.

A reminder... Niko Goodrum would have been on this list, but he did re-sign with the Twins.

Here is a list of players who were with the Twins who are now free agents: Minnesota Twins (18) RHP: Jason Adam (AA), Omar Bencomo (AAA), Edward Mujica (AAA), Neil Ramirez (AAA), Marcus Walden (AAA), Alex Wimmers (AAA) LHP: Logan Darnell (AAA), Pat Dean (AAA), Nick Greenwood (AAA) C: Carlos Paulino (AAA), Yeison Perez (DSL), Jairo Rodriguez (AA) 2B: James Beresford (AAA), Tommy Field (AAA), Aderlin Mejia (Hi A) SS: Heiker Meneses (AAA), Wilfredo Tovar (AAA) OF: Reynaldo Rodriguez (AAA)

Falvey/Levine are analytical and scouting types... Allen and Vavra are guys that are into the analytics... it "may" make more sense than we initially think.

Author Note: Apologies on the late report this week, but it’s hunting season! The Surprise Saguaros went 3-2 in the fourth week of the AFL season, and all of the Twins prospects were back in action on the week as Stephen Gonsalves made his return to the starting rotation after sitting out with a sore back. Their squad was also no-hit in one of those losses, but we can take solace in the fact that none of the Twins players contributed to that effort! To see how each of the Twins prospects performed in Week 4, read on! (links provided to each player’s overall stats by clicking their name) Image courtesy of Seth Stohs Author Note: Apologies on the late report this week, but it’s hunting season! The Surprise Saguaros went 3-2 in the fourth week of the AFL season, and all of the Twins prospects were back in action on the week as Stephen Gonsalves made his return to the starting rotation after sitting out with a sore back. Their squad was also no-hit in one of those losses, but we can take solace in the fact that none of the Twins players contributed to that effort! To see how each of the Twins prospects performed in Week 4, read on! (links provided to each player’s overall stats by clicking their name) Stephen Gonsalves – 1 game started, 2.0 IP, 2 ER’s, 1 H, 1 BB. Gonsalves made his return to the starting rotation for Friday’s contest against the Salt River Rafters. As he had not pitched in a couple of weeks, it was a short appearance for him and he had to shake off a little rust. He walked the first batter of the game, and then hit the second with a pitch to put two runners on. A line out to right field from the next hitter advanced the lead runner to third, and then a fielder’s choice ground out scored the first run but got an out at second. This means the batter ended up on first base and this is where the game recap gets a little confusing. With two outs, the next batter singled to center field, and the runner who was on first…scored? However this anomaly went down this accounted for the two earned runs allowed in Gonsalves’ line. His second inning went much better and was of the one-two-three variety, with all three outs coming via ground outs to third base. Gonsalves threw thirty-three pitches total in his return to AFL action, with nineteen of those going for strikes. Nick Gordon – 3 games, 4-12, 3 R’s, 3B, RBI, BB, 6 K’s, SB. On Halloween, Surprise and Glendale were locked in 0-0 pitching staff duel until the eighth inning, when two Twins prospects broke the tie. Tanner English led off the frame with a single, and Gordon promptly drove him in with a triple for the game’s first run. Gordon scored his team’s second run on a double later in the inning and that was it in the 2-0 win. In a somewhat scary play to start the game, Gordon shook off a 90-MPH fastball to his helmet to stay in the game and then stole his fifth base, but was left stranded. On Wednesday, Gordon again was in the leadoff spot for the Saguaros 6-0 win over Peoria, but he didn’t factor into the box score much in this one. His 0-4 day included two strikeouts. He would make up for that on Friday, though his team came out on the losing end in the extra-inning affair against Salt River. Down 2-0 after the top of the inning started by Gonsalves, Gordon led off with a single in the bottom half. He later scored on a double that also tied the game at two. After strikeouts to end each of the second and fourth innings, Gordon led off the seventh inning with a single, and trotted the bases on a home run from the next batter. With the game tied at six in the eighth, Gordon again reached base with a single, but was caught stealing second for the inning's final out. Gordon was also the Twins lone representative in Saturday’s Fall Stars game, which his West division squad won 12-4. He was the leadoff man, and finished 0-3 with three ground outs before the mass substitutions came into play. For some more reading, check out Baseball America’s feature on Gordon, where it discusses what he’s working on in the AFL. Mitch Garver – 3 games, 1-11, R, HR, 2 RBI, BB, 4 K’s. It was a bit of a quiet week for Garver, but his lone hit was a big one that came in the first inning of Wednesday’s game against Peoria. With a runner on second, Garver blasted his fourth AFL home run to make it 2-0, and they never looked back in the 6-0 win. He was the designated hitter in this one. Earlier in the week on Hallow’s Eve, Garver was 0-4 with a pair of strikeouts while playing catcher. He did however, cut down top Dodgers prospect Cody Bellinger at second on a steal attempt late in the game. On Thursday Garver was back behind the plate, but finished his day 0-3. He drew a two-out walk in the third inning, but advanced no further than that. He also had a throwing error on the defensive side. Tanner English – 3 games, 2-9, 2 R’s, 3B, RBI, BB, 4 K’s. English saw action in the same three games as Garver during the week, playing center field in each. As mentioned above, in their Halloween win English broke the stalemate with single leading off the eighth inning and came around to score the first run of the game on Gordon’s triple that followed. In Wednesday’s shutout victory, he drew a walk in the second inning but played a bigger part in the Saguaros three-run fifth to break the game open. His triple drove in the first run of the inning, and he scored the second on a wild pitch. In Thursday’s 3-1 loss to Mesa, English moved up a spot in the batting order to eighth, but went 0-3 with a pair of strikeouts to halt his hitting streak at six games. Mason Melotakis – 2 games, 2.0 IP, 4 H’s, 2 K’s, 1.00 ERA (overall). Melotakis picked up the win on Halloween as he pitched the top of the eighth inning before his organizational teammates accounted for Surprise’s two runs in the bottom half. He got through the inning without allowing a run, but it wasn’t quite that easy. Cody Bellinger led off with a single, but that’s when Garver cut him down trying to move into scoring position. An error and a single later put runners on first and third, but he got the final out on a pop-out to end the threat. In Thursday’s loss to Mesa, Melotakis again got the eighth inning, and again he had to work out of a jam. The first two batters reached on ground ball singles to center field, but that’s when he bucked up. Two strikeouts and a grounder later he was out of the inning and had lowered his Fall League ERA to an even 1.00. Randy Rosario – 2 games, 2.0 IP, 3 H’s, K, 5.59 ERA (overall). The lefty Rosario got the sixth inning on Halloween and kept the game tied at zero with a scoreless inning. He did allow two singles including one to the leadoff batter, but with two outs and runners on the corners he closed the door on the rally with a strikeout. Like Melotakis, Rosario also saw action in Thurday’s 3-1 loss, pitching the fifth inning in that one to relieve the Saguaros starter Tanner Anderson. The leadoff man again reached base with a single, but essentially two sacrifice bunts (one legit, one a weak tapper back to him on the mound) and a can of corn later he had a scoreless inning in the book. John Curtiss – 2 games, 2.0 IP, 3 K’s, 3.72 ERA (overall). Curtiss had two solid appearances on the week, pitching in Wednesday’s win and Friday’s extra-inning loss. In the victory, he was the first reliever up after their starter finished the first four innings, and made quick work of the Javelinas lineup after the offense had made it 5-0 in the top-half. He bookended his inning with strikeouts and threw just ten pitches (seven for strikes). On Friday he pitched the seventh inning, again making short work of the opposing lineup to keep the game tied at six. On eleven pitches he picked up two ground ball outs to third, and ended the inning with a strikeout, his fourteenth on the AFL season in 8.2 innings pitched (that’s a good ratio, if you were wondering). Please feel free to ask questions and discuss the performances during the week! View full article

The Minnesota Twins announced tonight that hitting coach Tom Brunansky and first base coach Butch Davis will not be offered contracts to return to the staff in 2017. The remainder of the 2016 Twins coaching staff were offered contracts to return. Derek Falvey and Thad Levine were quickly at work in determining the futures for the coaching staff who have been in limbo since the season's end. Image courtesy of Kim Klement, USA Today The Minnesota Twins announced tonight that hitting coach Tom Brunansky and first base coach Butch Davis will not be offered contracts to return to the staff in 2017. The remainder of the 2016 Twins coaching staff were offered contracts to return. Derek Falvey and Thad Levine were quickly at work in determining the futures for the coaching staff who have been in limbo since the season's end. Tom Brunansky came back to the Twins organization in 2010 and coached in the GCL, AA and AAA before being named the Twins hitting coach before the 2013 season. Brian Dozier often gave Brunansky a ton of credit for his successes. They worked together in the minors, both the AA and AAA levels. Reports indicate that Rudy Hernandez will not be promoted to the hitting coach. He was named the Twins assistant hitting coach two seasons ago. One name to watch is Chad Allen. He has been back in the organization the last couple of years. He has had success with several of the young Twins players the last couple of years. Kennys Vargas, Miguel Sano, Max Kepler and Byron Buxton have all thrived under his leadership. It is, of course, also possible that the new regime will go outside the organization. Butch Davis came to the Twins organization from the Orioles system when Paul Molitor was named manager. He also worked with the outfielders. Besides Hernandez, those remaining on the coaching staff are pitching coach Neil Allen, third base coach Gene Glynn, bullpen coach Eddie Guardado and bench coach Joe Vavra, View full article

Former ESPN.com minor league expert John Sickels has been at Minor League Ball for a long time. Today he shared his Top 20 Twins Prospect rankings: http://www.minorleagueball.com/2016/11/8/13555840/minnesota-twins-top-20-prospects-for-2017

Where are they going to get all these guys, you know, since the other organizations aren't giving up any of their guys at this point. To be fair to those around, let Falvey/Levine see them work for the next year and make decisions based on what they're doing in a year, not what they've been doing to this point. There are a lot of very bright people in this organization that deserve a real chance, not to just be cut just because.

1.) he's signed through next year. 2.) He's a very smart guy with a strong knowledge of the current programs and systems and players and coaches and more.

A new era of Minnesota Twins baseball began on Monday morning as Derek Falvey and Thad Levine were introduced in front of a crowd consisting of Twin Cities media, some current and former players, and fans watching online and on TV. As Dave St. Peter tweeted prior to the press conference, “Today marks dawn of a new era for @Twins baseball as we welcome Derek Falvey & Thad Levine. Right leadership tandem at the right time.” A new era of Minnesota Twins baseball began on Monday morning as Derek Falvey and Thad Levine were introduced in front of a crowd consisting of Twin Cities media, some current and former players, and fans watching online and on TV. As Dave St. Peter tweeted prior to the press conference, “Today marks dawn of a new era for @Twins baseball as we welcome Derek Falvey & Thad Levine. Right leadership tandem at the right time.” Derek Falvey was officially announced as the Twins Chief Baseball Officer last month. However, due to an agreement between Minnesota, Cleveland and MLB, he remained with Cleveland through the World Series. However, in that time, he was able to hire his choice for Twins General Manager, and he chose long-time assistant GM of the Texas Rangers, Thad Levine. In addition, interim GM Rob Antony told reporters that his new title would be essentially be his old title, Assistant General Manager. To summarize, the messages shared from the mouths of both Falvey and Levine included a lot of collaborations and synergy at every level. From scouting, to player development, to the Major League club, the goal will be to share a common system of beliefs and structure. As you will find with many companies, they will focus on People, Process and Culture. Good people who are interested in communication and continuous improvement will work within some established processes to develop a culture. Hopefully that culture involves winning, and a lot of it. According to Falvey, the goal is “long-term, sustainable, championship-caliber” success for the organization he had earlier described as “one of the most proud, resilient franchises in baseball.” Getting to that level will require a lot of work. And that work starts right away. Tonight, Falvey, Levine and Antony fly to Scottsdale, Arizona, for the GM Meetings. According to Falvey, they will “dive underneath the hood of this team here.” He added, “We would expect that we’ll go through player personnel decisions and evaluations over the next 72 hours aggressively and work forward from there.” As we all know, part of the arrangement with a restructured front office was that Paul Molitor was to remain the team’s manager. That came directly from owner Jim Pohlad. Falvey and Molitor have met a few times and it sounds like the discussions have been good. “He and I share the same vision which is building a winning organization and a winning Major League team.” On Molitor, Levine added, “My opinion is that the healthiest franchises in the game have strong synergies between ownership, front office, business and the clubhouse. So when we walk in the door having inherited a manager of the caliber of Paul Molitor, we feel like we’ve got a partner in this process, someone we can invest in the future with, so we view it as a prominent positive.” The team isn’t starting from scratch. As Falvey noted, “There are some building blocks here. There are some good young players. There’s talent in this organization. I think that’s a credit to Terry Ryan and the staff that came before us and built a good foundation, particularly on the position player side. It’s something I’ve always admired from a distance.” Falvey wasn’t willing to say how good this team is or how good they can be in 2017. “I don’t want to put restraints on teams. I want to go into the year with the hope that we are a competitive team that continues to build and gets better every single day.” The big question, of course, is how to go about adding pitching, something the Twins are greatly in need of. For Falvey, he said it’s the same philosophy for hitters or pitchers. “We’re trying to seek and find the best possible talent that exists out there, and then align that talent with a development plan that will maximize those strengths.” It’s a system that worked with Cleveland. They were able to bring together scouting, development and major league operations to bring the best results. He talked about working with other departments such as medical and strength and conditioning, and potentially some departments that currently do not exist. The new staff will attempt to bring balance to the organization. They will communicate internally. It is a sound strategy. Listen, the reality is that Falvey and Levine have their work cut out for them. Aside from some of the specifics as it relates to analytics, the message was the same you would have heard from Ryan and his group, or any new collection being brought in. Falvey and Levine use bigger words and speak very well. They do bring knowledge and experience from outside the current Twins system, but they also know that it isn’t 100 percent about analytics. I was impressed with Levine noting that the opinions of former players like Michael Young and Darren Oliver, who are senior advisers in the Rangers’ front office, were helpful in the evaluation as well. Corey Koskie, Joe Mauer and Glen Perkins were in attendance. Falvey talked about being a “data-driven organization.” Levine thinks that data needs to be “married up with the scouting acumen of your field staff. The talent evaluators are really the difference-makers in the game. I subscribe to the theory that the competitive advantage is that whoever has the best talent evaluators... who then has it married up with an ownership group who will support you to acquire that talent, is probably going to win a lot of games.” Levine also noted that relationship building, the human side, is just as important. Working with the media. Building relationships with agents. All in an attempt to be able to bring in the best talent. Young talent. Talented veterans. Leaders. It all fits into the equation. So while the theme most Twins fans want to hear are words like “analytics” and “advanced stats,” it’s good to hear that these new leaders will always understand the human element as well. Things are changing in the front office of the Minnesota Twins. The goals remain the same. Build a winner. Build a team that can win in the short and long terms. It is certainly going to be a challenge. Press conferences are an opportunity to meet the new guys. We had the opportunity to listen to them speak and see some personality. It’s hard to lose in an introductory press conference. But for the most part, I feel like it was a successful unveiling of the new direction. Falvey and Levine are both very well spoken and articulate. They flash business acumen, but they have also been in great organizations that have won. They are very convincing and appear to be strong leaders. Levine showed a sense of humor and hinted humility with a few of his remarks. Of course now the work begins. Coming off of a 59-win season, much work needs to be done to make the team more competitive. It feels like the Twins have made some strong choices. Now the fun of the offseason begins. We know that those reading this on the pages of Twins Daily will be watching closely to see what will happen! View full article

He was hurt the entire spring and didn't do anything to earn a spot. And to answer the question, they have enough 1B/DH types.

They pushed him fast this year. As bad as he was for two months in Cedar Rapids, they pushed him to Ft. Myers after about 3 good starts. He'll be alright, I think. I think patience is key...They'll have a big decision on him next offseason.

Three winter leagues are up and running now. The Venezuelan Winter League has been going for nearly a month already. They’ve been playing about two weeks in the Dominican Republic, and they have now played just over a week in Puerto Rico. Several players from the Twins organization are already participating and more certainly will in time. Australia has a U23 team playing in the World Cup, and doing well. Image courtesy of Seth Stohs (photo of Luis Arraez) Three winter leagues are up and running now. The Venezuelan Winter League has been going for nearly a month already. They’ve been playing about two weeks in the Dominican Republic, and they have now played just over a week in Puerto Rico. Several players from the Twins organization are already participating and more certainly will in time. Australia has a U23 team playing in the World Cup, and doing well. VENEZUELAN WINTER LEAGUE Let’s start in Venezuela. Young Victor Tademo did not play during the past week. Neither did catcher Jairo Rodriguez. Wilfredo Tovar was limited to three games, and he went 2-13 (.154). Infielder Niko Goodrum played in four games. He went 4-17 (.235) with two walks and a double. Heiker Meneses played in five games and went 5-19 (.263). Reynaldo Rodriguez always hits. He played in five games and went 6-18 (.333) with two doubles. Luis Arraez was terrific again. The 19-year-old hit hits in all four games he played. In face he went 8-18 (.444) with two doubles and a triple. Throughout the season in Cedar Rapids, Arraez was a multi-hit game machine. That has remained the case in Venezuela. Of the four games he played this week, he had multiple hits in three of them. Omar Bencomo made two starts during the week. In the first, he gave up just one run despite eight hits over five innings. The second one didn’t go so well. He gave up seven runs on eight hits in just three innings. Ryan O’Rourke has been slowly working his ERA down after a rough first couple of weeks. He pitched twice during the week. He gave up one run on three hits and a walk in 1.1 innings in his first appearance. In his most recent outing, he gave up just one run on two hits over three innings.He struck out six in his 4.1 innings. Nick Greenwood did not pitch. DOMINICAN WINTER LEAGUE Leonardo Reginnato, who split 2016 between Chattanooga and Rochester and will play for Brazil in the WBC, played his first game in the Dominican on Friday. He went 0-3 with a walk. Carlos Paulino caught three games. He went 3-9 (.333) in those games. Late last week, Palka was hitting just .182 without an extra base hit. In his past two games, he is 4-10 with a double and two home runs. The home runs came in back-to-back games on Thursday and Friday. Confesor Lara worked in three games over the week. He gave up two runs on two hits and two walks. PUERTO RICO WINTER LEAGUE Lean Marrero, who has played in the GCL the last two years, has played in just one game. He is 0-1. Nelson Molina has played in two games and is 0-2. Juan Centeno has played just three games so far. He is 1-9 (.111). JJ Fernandez has spent the last three seasons in Cedar Rapids. Through three games in Puerto Rico he has gone 4-11 (.364) with two doubles and a home run. Kennys Vargas is playing again this winter. He two hits in 14 at bats (.143) with a double and three walks. Dereck Rodriguez has pitched twice. On Friday night, he pitched one inning of a no hitter for his Puerto Rico team. There is your weekly update of how Twins players have performed in the Winter Leagues. In just a couple of weeks, we’ll add the performances from the Australian Winter League. Aaron Whitefield signed with the Twins last summer and played in the GCL this year. After Instructional League, he joined the Australia World Cup U23 team. He was their leadoff hitter. In five qualifier games, he went 8-23 (.348) against teams like Austria, Argentina, Chinese Taipei and Japan. Australia qualified for the championship round this weekend. They did beat Panama in the first round. Feel free to discuss any of these players or leagues. Ask questions if you like. View full article

Here's more discussion on this: http://twinsdaily.com/topic/24059-article-picking-al-and-nl-mvps/

Hence I sadi he "should win" but Betts "will win"

My thoughts on who will/should win: AL MVP: Should win: Mike Trout Will win: Mookie Betts AL Cy: Should win: Justin Verlander Will win: Rick Porcello AL ROY: Should win: Michael Fulmer Will win: Michael Fulmer AL MOY: Should win: Terry Francona Will win: Terry Francona NL MVP: Should win: Kris Bryant Will win: Kris Bryant NL CY: Should win: Kyle Hendricks Will win: Kyle Hendricks NL ROY: Should win: Corey Seager Will win: Corey Seager NL MOY: Should win: Dave Roberts Will win: Joe Maddon