B Richard

Update: Travis has continued to play LF in recent games for the Miracle. Although it's still early in the season, the Twins are clearly letting him develop his fielding abilities as a corner OF. By the way-- Travis had a hell of a game last night. He went 5-5, helping the Miracle to a 7-4 victory. On the year, he is hitting .286/.359/.343. Travis hasn't shown his power yet, but he has shown enough patience to get on base at a .359 clip. The season is young, but it will be exciting to watch a) where he plays in the field how patient he is at the plate c) his power numbers

Love Arcia's personality. Love Colabello's perseverance. Love Pinto's sleeper aspect. Love Hicks' shot at redemption. Love Gibson's chance to be a real part of the future. I even love good old Joe, vanilla as ever. There's a lot to love with this team, scoreboard be damned.

It should be good to go now

Here are Harrison's hard numbers from his first two professional seasons: [TABLE=class: grid, width: 50, align: left] Year Level PA AVG OBP SLG HR XBH BB% K% wRC+ 2012 Rookie 253 .301 .383 .461 5 21 9.5% 20.2% 138 2013 A- 537 .253 .366 .416 15 43 12.7% 23.3% 124 [/TABLE] Although Harrison's batting average dipped in 2013, he managed to walk at an increased rate. This skill, plate discipline, will be extremely important for him in his development. It can be the make or break factor for many prospects. Striking out in 23% of plate appearances is not alarming for a power hitter like Harrison, but it is something we should certainly keep an eye on. With a walk rate north of 12%, Harrison should be able to contribute to the offense in Ft. Myers even if he does swing and miss occasionally. Finally, it is worth noting that Harrison posted a wRC+ of 138 in rookie ball and 124 in Cedar Rapids. In simple terms, as a batter he produced runs at a rate 24% better than league average (as a 20 year old in Cedar Rapids!). This is certainly encouraging for the Twins, especially if he continues to develop his approach at the plate and shows more power. Also worth considering: Harrison has played LF in Ft. Myers so far this year (As of 4/7). The Twins will certainly want to get a look at Harrison in the corner OF spots, but I would be surprised if he doesn't continue to get reps at 3B going forward. There is a bit of a logjam in Ft. Myers, with Niko Goodrum playing third and Jorge Polanco at short. The Twins appear to be letting each of these guys show his versatility at secondary positions. Although Harrison's bat is more valuable at 3B, he could certainly contribute at a corner OF spot if he continues to produce runs at 24% better than league average. I will keep the thread updated with reports on Travis' development as both a hitter and fielder, including what position he plays.

Travis Harrison | Third Base | DOB: 10/92 | Bats: Right | Draft: 2011-1 Height: 6'1" Weight: 215 Born in Aliso Viejo of sunny Southern California, Travis Harrison (3B) was selected by the Twins with the 50th overall pick of the 2011 draft. (Fun fact: this draft pick was compensation for losing Orlando Hudson- the legacy of O-Dog lives on). Harrison was committed to go to USC, but he chose to sign with the Twins for a little over $1M. At the time of the draft, Travis was touted as one of the top HS bats in the draft. Despite the potential of his bat, it would be unreasonable to expect Harrison to advance extremely quickly in the organization-- HS bats take time to develop. Harrison's defense needs refinement as well. He spent quite a bit of time last season working on his defense at 3B-- there is still much progress to be made with the glove. For what it's worth, I recall Seth mentioning reports of improved defense for Harrison toward the end of last year. I'm sure we all remember Sano's defense took some time to develop at 3B, so there is still quite a bit of hope that Harrison can stick at third. Where Harrison plays defensively will ultimately determine the value of his bat in the lineup. Although many believe Miguel Sano is the future of the organization at 3B, Harrison could still be an extremely valuable asset at third. Travis has started the year at Ft. Myers. Assuming he progresses steadily, it might not be out of the question to expect him in the Twin Cities by late 2016.

CB Bucknor is objectively the worst umpire of all time

Great reminder that we are all Twins fans...

Hughes has shown the guy we want him to be flashes. Errr wait... that's not quite right. Or legal...

Hughes has shown flashes of the guy we want him to be

Travis Harrison

Revere isn't exactly going to haunt us the same way that Papi has...

Rays lineup seems pretty much like what I'd expect in the regular season. I wouldn't be terribly surprised if Kubel and Presley don't crack the opening day lineup

Hope you have another job lined up, Vance

Numbers be damned! I see what I see!

Thanks for that, cmb. I understand it's pretty early, but I have severe concern over drafting someone with a 40 hit tool. IMO, it's the most important tool for position players with some extreme exceptions. How well does Gatewood field his position? If he has Jose Iglesias/Andrelton Simmons defense, it doesn't bother me as much. From everything I've gathered, however, that appears not to be the case. He very well might improve his hit tool over the course of the season, but I personally would opt for someone else at #5 if his hit tool remains at 40 come draft day.

Allow me to clarify-- I meant Tulo would be a better target than Drew for sustained success in the future. Regardless, I honestly don't think we even know how the FO will spend when this team enters its window of contention. Suppressing payroll in the rebuilding process is hardly proof that TR/the Pohlads will be gun-shy when this team starts its run. EDIT: ah, my apologies, I had run across an article that suggested Tulo would be an acquisition target, not a potential FA signing. My apologies for my own general buffoonery. FWIW, the Yanks definitely don't have the pieces to acquire Tulo. We might... whether we should or not is an entirely different question.

What kind of contract would you give Drew (mostly talking years...)? Do you think he will sustain his talent long enough to be a real piece of the Twins once we are a contender? (think 2016-beyond). I don't think it's worth signing Drew to a 1-2 year contract. Two years on a transition team only bails water out of the boat- it doesn't plug the hole. At the same time, I have a hard time believing his talent will last long enough to be a part of the Twins future. Ergo, I wouldn't really be a big fan of the signing altogether. Now, depending on how much risk you want to take, you might consider Tulo in next year's free agent crop, assuming he doesn't get extended by the Rockies. That's a move I would seriously consider.

Don't mean to pile on, but I'll start worrying about the Jackson comp once Buxton starts suiting up for the Vikings

No doubt in my mind you have to go for this. Whether or not the Twins will is another question. You need a foundation for long term success. Is there risk involved? Yes. That might just be why Byron decides to sign, interestingly enough. It won't be nearly as good as Longoria's deal, but my hope is that we can lock him in for a few post-arb years and still have a chance at re-signing Sano if he is the real deal after all.

Gleemaaaaaaaaaaaaan

My favorite has been and will always be "sell me this pen"

Gleeeeeeemaaaaaannnnnnn

Perhaps Suzuki is better defensively, but I am far more interested in evaluating young talent that is part of the future. I would hope Pinto would get to work on defense behind the plate in the majors, but if Suzuki is commanding the lion's share of playing time, I'd rather Pinto get consistent PT in AAA to work on his defense and develop.

Bryant? Ha, ha, ha. The guy can mash, but so can Sano. Sano posted a 13% BB rate at AA. Bryant posted a 4.8% BB rate at A+. Oh, by the way, Sano is 1.5 years younger and more likely to stick at 3B. They both strike out a lot, hardly surprising for power hitters. Yeah, I'll take Sano over Bryant every day and twice on Sunday. Say what you want about Bryant and SSS, but that's even less reason to put him ahead of a more-proven commodity in Sano. Vamos, Miguel!

No reason to rush the decision on whether or not he belongs in the bullpen. Give the kid a change of scenery (a year in Rochester with a full year to continue starting) and see what happens. He is one small adjustment away from becoming a major piece of our starting rotation going forward